The Dragon Priestess
by MakaS0ul
Summary: Weiss is on a field trip out to Haven, one of the most spiritual cities on Remnant. She chases after a dog and comes across an abandoned shrine. After offering a prayer, a golden dragon appears, telling her it's the god of the shrine and she has become the new head priestess. Follow Weiss as she adjusts to her new, bizarre life. Freezerburn mAU. Image credit: skiretehfox on tumblr
1. Goodbye, Ordinary Life

**Hello, hello! I've got a new story this time! With more Freezerburn! How exciting! I got the idea for the setting when I was walking my dog. I was listening to "EXEC_FLIP_ARPHAGE/." by Akiko Shikata (who has a very mythical music style. I highly recommend checking her out!) and the song gave me a mental picture of a shrine maiden singing a prayer/hymn to the gods (I think that was what was going on in the song anyway. It's from the game series "Ar Tonelico"). Anyway, I rolled with the image and this story was what it turned into. As always, I'll talk more at the bottom, so for now, enjoy!**

Weiss Schnee had never liked field trips; being forced into a 3 day overnight stay with a bunch of people she didn't like was something she would never enjoy. Yet, here she was, surrounded by her irritating classmates in some rundown city in Mistral called Haven.

Weiss attended Beacon High School in Vale, a rather prestigious high school that could afford to send its students on overnight field trips to other continents. She had expected to have classmates with as proper of upbringings as her considering the costs to enter the school, but her dreams had been shattered on her first day when she had been hit in the face with an errant flying pancake at the entrance gate. How the rather hyperactive culprit had managed such a feat was beyond her, but she had decided to forget the incident altogether. Since then, it had been more of the same; classmates and peers that seemed to have come right out of the insane asylum surrounding her and irritating her at every opportunity they got.

With a heavy sigh, Weiss fixed her attention on her teacher, Ms. Glynda Goodwitch, who was guiding her rambunctious classmates through the various streets.

"Now children, this particular area is rather famous. Can anyone tell me why?" Ms. Goodwitch scanned the crowd until she spotted a girl with her hand raised. "Yes, Ms. Valkyrie."

"Is it because of pancakes? I really hope they have pancakes here," the cheerful ginger, Nora Valkyrie, practically shouted. A quiet boy with black hair, who had been walking next to her, tugged on her sleeve, signaling her to be quiet.

Ms. Goodwitch rubbed her temples with a frustrated sigh –Weiss could empathize. "No, Ms. Valkyrie. Anyone else?" Another glance around. "Yes, Ms. Nikos." Ms. Goodwitch's tone audibly brightened at the name of one of her best students.

A girl with flaming red hair and stunning green eyes spoke up. "It is because of the various shrines in the area. Haven is considered to be one of the most spiritual cities in the world. This particular area is home to over 50 different shrines."

"Very good, Ms. Nikos. Exactly that. The religion here, Takusan, follows a polytheistic ideology, meaning they believe in more than one deity. With that, I'll conclude lecture here. You all have exactly 4 hours of free time. Explore the shrines around the area with your groups and be sure to return to the hotel by 5:00PM. Understood?" Ms. Goodwitch called out.

"Yes, ma'am," came the reply in unison. The class descended into chatter as groups split off to search the area.

For her part, Weiss groaned; she had been dreading this moment. Her lack of desire to socialize with others had forced her into a random group. She had been stuck with Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren, Jaune Arc, and Pyrrha Nikos. While she didn't particularly dislike Pyrrha or Ren, the other two left something to be desired; it was difficult to like someone who had hit her in the face with a pancake, and Jaune, the pathetic dolt that he was, managed to get on her nerves by attempting to ask her out at least 5 times. Needless to say, he was persistent in his attempts and it rubbed her the wrong way.

Without her noticing, Pyrrha had made her way over to Weiss, greeting her with a friendly smile. "Hello, Weiss! Are you ready to go?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. Where are we going?" Weiss grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"We thought about letting Pyrrha lead the way, since she was originally from this area," Ren offered quietly.

"That's fine with me. Let's get moving."

Sensing her white-haired classmate's impatience, Pyrrha hurried to the front of the group and began to lead them through the streets.

The area was fairly clean, though rather old. Houses that had likely been constructed at least half a century prior to the current time dominated the neighborhoods. The streets were narrow, allowing for only one car at a time to drive through them. The difference between Haven and Vale's cities was astonishing to Weiss. While Vale was sleek and modern, Haven could be described as antique and ramshackle.

Pyrrha had led them through various streets, stopping occasionally at little shrines that sat on the sides of the roads. Weiss had been surprised that such small shrines existed, but Pyrrha had mentioned that they were rather common.

"The smaller shrines are dedicated to lesser gods. The lesser gods are either mostly unknown, or they have a small following. Despite this, many people who pass by pray at the little shrines. Generally, they will pray at them if they have a small wish, and they save their bigger wishes for larger shrines." The redhead sounded like an actual tour guide. The only thing she lacked was a disgustingly chipper fake smile.

The group approached a large set of stone steps, stopping at the bottom. Pyrrha gestured at the gate that rested at the top. "This shrine is home to a particularly powerful cat god. The shrine itself tends to attract a lot of animals, though the majority of them are cats, as you might guess. Shall we go up?"

Nora popped up next to Pyrrha, thrusting a fist into the air. "Yeah! Let's race to the top! Last one there pays for lunch," she shouted as she began sprinting up the stairs.

Ren and Pyrrha exchanged a glance, shrugging before dashing up the stairs themselves, leaving Jaune in the dust as he tried to follow after them. Weiss was content to walk up the stairs, and would refuse to pay for lunch upon her arrival.

Although said arrival seemed like it would never come; the stairs were endless, and Weiss suspected she had maybe climbed a third of the way up when she reached a small landing. She stopped to rest, leaning over and breathing heavily. She would be going to the gym more often after this trip.

Her head shot up when she heard a small yip nearby. A moment later, she heard another small bark, and she frantically began to search for the source. While most of her classmates assumed she was unfeeling, referring to her as "Ice Queen" –she would be more than happy to smack Nora for starting that—Weiss actually loved animals. If she had to say whether she was a dog or cat person, she would probably go with dog; there was something about their adorable ways that left her squealing like a child.

Finally, she found the source of the barks; a tiny black and white corgi. It had been behind several bushes which, Weiss noticed, were hiding a small trail.

Noticing the girl who found him, the dog yipped happily, wagging the little nub of his tail rapidly.

Unable to contain herself, Weiss let out an ear-splitting squeal, reaching her hand out to the dog to pet him. When he didn't flinch or run, she gingerly touched his head, stroking his fur happily. It had been so long since she had petted a dog –far too long in her opinion. Why couldn't Beacon's dorms allow pets?—and she planned to relish every moment of it.

Unfortunately for her, the dog yipped once and bolted down the path after only a few seconds. He stopped for the briefest moment to look at Weiss before yipping again and continuing to sprint down the path.

Not to be deterred by the setback, Weiss took off after him, cursing her lack of running shoes. She would find that adorable ball of fluff and pet him to her heart's content, with or without proper footwear.

In her search, she noticed that the path was rather well hidden by large trees and bushes. It seemed as if it hadn't been used in years, perhaps even decades. What was at the end, Weiss didn't know, though she really hoped it was a puppy paradise of some kind. She wouldn't leave if that was the case.

Hearing another excited yip, the icy-eyed girl renewed her efforts, pushing herself to run faster. Fortunately for her, she made sure get regular exercise, so her quest to pet the dog was an exponentially easier one.

After a few more moments down the winding dirt path, Weiss came to an abrupt stop in front of a tall red gate; a _torii_ as Pyrrha called it.

Just past the gate was a rather large shrine, the main building being about the size of a large apartment. The grounds were in disarray, with weeds shooting up between blocks of concrete and leaves littering the ground. A structure off to one side that seemed to have held water at one point was empty, with the roof above it missing shingles. The main structure, similar to the _torii,_ desperately needed new paint and some patching up. In front of the main building was a large pedestal, though the inscription was too faded to read, and whatever was supposed to rest at the top was gone.

Weiss glanced around apprehensively; where had the dog gone? Clearly, the place was no longer in use. Should she be here?

As she was about to turn around and run back the way she came, the dog she had chased after appeared in front of her, yipping at her again.

"It's you! Oh, I'm so happy to see you! Yes, I am," she cooed, reaching out to try to pet the pup.

Just before she touched his head, the dog took off towards the main building, stopping again once he reached the top of the steps to the building. He barked once more, as if asking her to come closer.

Not wanting to give up just yet, Weiss cautiously approached the shrine, keeping her eyes locked on her prize. When she reached the steps, she hesitantly placed a foot on the first one; she wanted to make sure the thing wouldn't snap in half underneath her. When it didn't so much as creak, she continued her ascent, outstretching her hand towards the ball of fluff.

Upon seeing the girl reach the top of the steps, the dog barked, running circles around a box that sat in front of a set of doors. What had once been an offering box had fallen into disuse, much like the rest of the shine; it was missing a few bars on the top, but it would still be able to function as it was supposed to.

For a moment, Weiss stood there confused, trying to interpret the dog's circling. "Do you… want me to… offer a prayer…?"

Of course, the dog couldn't truly answer, but when it seemed to yip in response, Weiss shrugged and placed her hands together, closing her eyes like she had seen Pyrrha and Ren do. She was stagnant for a moment, attempting to think of a something, _anything,_ but after a moment, a simple request popped into her head.

"I pray that I can pet a lot of dogs on this trip." Satisfied with her wish, she opened her eyes, searching for the dog.

Suddenly, a flash of light forced her to shield her eyes. It was so bright and intensely hot that Weiss likened it to being blasted by sunlight in the midst of summer. The force of it was so strong, Weiss was thrown back, landing on her backside several feet away.

Just as quickly as the flash came, it was gone, and Weiss deemed it safe to open her eyes once more. Ever so carefully, she cracked her icy eyes open slightly, wary of any subsequent flashes.

In front of the offering box, a large golden dragon, not unlike the ones seen in Chinese myths, had appeared. The beast's body, covered in brilliant shimmering scales, was as bright as the sun itself, and its body seemed to radiate heat, though not such an intense heat that one would burn from standing too close, but a warmer heat, like something that one would feel when wrapped in a blanket on a cold winter's night. The dragon stretched itself then, its front and back legs spanning outward in unison as it yawned audibly. The beast's maw opened wide enough to swallow a small child in one bite, revealing a set of razor-sharp teeth, and resting atop its head was a pair of large antlers, resembling that of a deer's own. Its slit eyes, a brilliant amethyst, finally seemed to settle on the completely flabbergasted girl in front of it.

"You the one who offered a prayer? Thanks! It was awful being asleep for so long. What year is it?" the beast asked nonchalantly, yawning once more.

Weiss's brain was completely stuck. Her jaw was slack, moving mechanically only after being spoken to. What on _Remnant_ was happening? What the _hell_ was this oversized lizard in front of her? "What… what are you?" she managed to force out.

Tilting its head, the dragon moved closer to the confused girl, seemingly swimming through the air; it lacked anything resembling wings. "I'm the deity for this shrine. You couldn't have guessed that?"

As the beast approached, Weiss numbly noted that the dragon was easily the length of a bus, perhaps more.

After the… lizard's comment, Weiss seemed to regain some of her bearings, standing up and dusting herself off, huffing all the while. "Don't act like it should be common sense! You literally popped up out of nowhere! Are you a dragon?"

"Well, yeah. What else would I be? A duck?" The dragon looked at her like it was the most obvious thing in the world, seeming to be confused by Weiss's lack of comprehension.

The absurdity of the situation was wearing thin on Weiss's grip on her sanity. She rubbed the bridge of her nose, attempting to calm herself. "Dragons aren't exactly common. And to answer your earlier question, it's 2016."

"That late, huh? Man, I slept in _way_ too long." After another large yawn, the dragon continued. "Wait… They aren't? Only a few hundred years and they're all gone, huh?" When the dragon received a bewildered look, it chuckled and waved its front leg, as if shooing off the notion. "I was just kidding. Dragons only exist in myths and fairytales. Well, that and right here. I guess deities are a special case."

"Hold on a moment. Explain to me what's going on. You can't just pop up out of nowhere, claim to be a god, and then act like I should be totally fine with whatever the hell is going on," Weiss practically spat, holding a hand up to stop the dragon from speaking further.

The dragon swam lazily through the air, twisting and winding its body into random patterns. "Alright. But can you do something for me first? It'll only take a second," the beast inquired.

Weiss gazed apprehensively at the unnervingly relaxed lizard before her. "What do you want me to do?" she asked cautiously, taking the smallest of steps backwards.

"Hold still," the beast said before pushing its large forehead against hers.

Before Weiss could protest, her mind was assailed by images. It felt like she was watching a movie of the world's history, seemingly from the point of when the dragon first went to sleep to the point when Weiss offered the prayer. Each image seemed to be there for only an instant before the next took its place.

The dragon pulled away a moment later, humming at the information. "So that's what I missed? Technology and civilization have really come far." The golden dragon rolled its neck, working out a few kinks. "Oh right," it said, pausing, "you wanted me to explain what's going on, right?"

Once again, Weiss's mind was in disarray. She had seen several lifetimes pass by in the blink of an eye, and once again, this oversized lizard acted as if she should view the whole event as normal. She gripped her forehead, willing a wave of nausea to die down; she truly was going to lose her sanity if she stayed with this supposed "god" for much longer.

With a heavy sigh, Weiss addressed the dragon's question. "Please do."

"I'll give you the gist of it," the dragon said, floating around Weiss languidly. "Basically, I'm the god that inhabits this shrine; my name is most commonly known as Yang Xiao Long. My existence was originally created in a country that is now called Vacuo."

The beast yawned before continuing. "I went into slumber when my shrine lost its followers, and was awakened by your prayer. As my only follower, you are –by default- the head priestess. I look forward to working with you."

Weiss's jaw dropped. " _Head priestess_?! What does that mean?!" she screeched.

Yang winced at the ivory-haired girl's ear-splitting pitch. "It means that you will be in charge of restoring and maintaining the shrine, attending to ceremonies and such that are associated with me, and of course, gathering more followers. There's some more complicated stuff too, but that will come much, much later."

Weiss shot Yang an incredulous look. "Does that mean you expect me to stay here and attend to you for the rest of my life?"

The golden dragon shrugged. "More or less, yeah. I mean, you currently live in Vale, but there's no way you could come here every day to do your priestess duties from there, right? Staying here would be the best option," it said nonchalantly.

"And you think I can just drop everything in my life and tell people 'Oh hey, sorry, but I have to transfer to Haven Academy because I prayed to an abandoned shrine and became its head priestess and now I can't come home. I hope you understand,' without looking like I've lost my damn mind?" she screeched once more, waving her hands about wildly.

"Well when you put it like that, anything will sound ridiculous," Yang huffed. The dragon swam its body around the ivory-haired girl until they were face to face. "I'm a deity, remember? I've got powers for things like this. I can fix the memories of anyone you've ever interacted with and they'll think that you're just living in Haven now. Nobody will realize a thing, not even your own family."

"You're forgetting one crucial thing," Weiss said, fixing the dragon with an icy glare.

"What's that?"

"I don't want to stay here!" The icy glare had turned into a full-on blizzard as Weiss bellowed at Yang.

The golden dragon's shoulders slumped as much as a dragon's shoulders could slump. "If you don't stay here and gather faith for me, I'll go back to sleep until either my shrine is destroyed and I disappear forever, or someone else finds the shrine and prays," she muttered.

Weiss stopped her rant, lowering her arms and searching for the dragon's eyes. "You'll… disappear forever?" she whispered. As much as she didn't want to be forced to stay, she didn't exactly wish for the dragon to cease to exist.

Yang nodded solemnly. "If anything happens to my shrine, yes. My existence is really weak right now, so if anything were to happen to you or my shrine, I'll be gone from everyone's memories with no way to return. To us deities, faith is paramount; without it, we cease to exist. That's why I need you to stay here and gather faith."

"So if I leave but the shrine remains, you'll still be able to exist in slumber, right? Why is that?" Weiss inquired, her tone far less angry after Yang's somber revelation.

"The shrine represents the potential for faith; someone could stumble upon it and pray, much like you did. If the shrine disappeared and you refused to believe in me, there would be no more potential for faith and no one to pass on my existence, meaning I would no longer exist and could never be revived." Yang glanced at Weiss with pleading eyes.

The ivory-haired girl audibly gulped, sensing her pity for the dragon's plight beginning to break down her desire to return home and forget the whole event. "What about books? Surely there must be some written record of you or this shrine. Couldn't that keep you alive?" Weiss was grasping at straws, she knew, but despite her irritation with her school life, she wasn't sure if she was willing to drop everything to become the head priestess of the shrine.

The beast shook its head morosely. "If there were ever any records of my existence, they no longer exist. I went into slumber hundreds of years ago, after all." It paused, taking Weiss's small hands within its large, scaly, and talon-tipped own. "I know it's completely unfair of me to ask this of you, but you are literally the only one I can count on. I need your help, Weiss." Lilac eyes seared into ice-blue as Yang silently pleaded with the ivory-haired girl.

Weiss fidgeted under the intense gaze, desperately wishing that there was some sort of rock she could crawl under to escape from this impossible choice.

She bit her lip, worrying it between her teeth. There were a thousand reasons why she shouldn't agree to help, but there were also many reasons for why she should help. She could feel her moral compass pointing insistently in one particular direction, and so she decided to bite the bullet and follow it.

After what seemed to be an eternity of silence, Weiss's soft voice filled the air. "You can really make people think that I've always attended Haven Academy? That there's nothing out of the ordinary that would make others worry?"

Yang nodded furiously. "Yes. Nobody will worry. I can even help you make friends with people here. If you stay, I'll do everything in my power to make you comfortable and happy." The deity's grip tightened ever so slightly.

Weiss took a deep breath, leveling her gaze firmly onto Yang. "Fine. I'll stay, but only on one condition."

What could be assumed was a grin broke out across Yang's face. "Anything!"

"Just… let me say goodbye to my group members. They may have been irritating and absolutely insane, but they weren't bad people," Weiss said quietly.

"Absolutely," Yang said cheerily, before pulling Weiss into a bear hug and flying up into the air with her, twirling about this way and that. The dragon squealed with joy while Weiss screamed, holding onto the scaly body of Yang for dear life. "I'm so glad you're staying! We're gonna have so much fun! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

After Weiss had been safely deposited on the ground after several terrifying minutes of flying, she dusted herself off and headed back down the path.

The way back was as quiet as it had been on her original journey to Yang's shrine, which she took advantage of to think about her decision; she would be leaving everything that she knew behind so she could become the head priestess of a shrine to an unknown god.

While it was a bit late to change her mind, she couldn't help but wonder if she was making the right decision. On one hand, she would be leaving everything she knew and loved behind. On the other hand, she would be helping to keep a deity alive. Though she had no real attachment to the god, she knew that she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she simply let Yang disappear. With a sigh, she decided that -for the time being- she had made the right decision.

As she approached the stairs to the shrine the group had originally decided to visit, she began to hear her name shouted by her obviously concerned group members. She hurried to the landing she had stopped at earlier and spotted Pyrrha. "Pyrrha, I'm here," she called, waving her arms.

Spotting their missing group mate, Pyrrha called for the others to gather, rushing down to Weiss to wrap her up into a hug that forced the air out of the smaller girl's lungs.

Weiss could feel the redhead's tears staining her shirt, though she could hardly be mad at someone who had been so worried about her. Awkwardly, she patted the sobbing girl's back, unsure if she was actually comforting her.

Once the others had regrouped, Pyrrha finally released her hold on Weiss, though she kept a grip on the heiress's shoulders. "Where were you, Weiss? We were so incredibly worried about you!"

"Yeah! Ren and I thought you might have been kidnapped by sloth assassins," Nora shouted.

"I didn't think that, but I was worried about you as well," Ren amended softly.

"Seriously though, what happened to you, Weiss? I thought you were right behind me," Jaune queried, his sapphire eyes alight with concern.

"I… uh… got lost when I was chasing after a dog I saw," Weiss mumbled, unable to come up with a worthwhile lie. Though she could have told them the truth, it would have made it hard to say goodbye; they would question her sanity –rightfully so- and she would be unable to get them to focus on her farewell.

"You were… chasing a dog?" they questioned in unison, unable to imagine the perpetually-irritable "Ice Queen" following after a puppy to the point of getting lost.

"Yes…" Weiss muttered, becoming increasingly embarrassed at the incredulous looks she was receiving. She coughed. "A-Anyway, I'm fine now and I'm sorry for worrying you all."

Pyrrha recovered first, gently shaking her head. "I'm just glad you're okay. Now let's get going. We ended up spending most of our free time searching for you, so we have to get back to the hotel now."

As the other members of the group began to follow Pyrrha down the endless stone steps, Weiss called out. "Wait a minute!"

Her fellow group mates stopped, turning around to fix her with a confused look.

Weiss gulped. She tugged at her collar, feeling hot all of a sudden. "Well, I know I can be a bit… difficult, but I wanted to thank you guys for being so nice to me during my time at Beacon." She took a shaky step back towards the path to Yang's shrine. "I hope I'll see you again someday. I'll miss you guys," she said quietly, her voice thick with tears she hadn't expected to form.

Without giving them a chance to respond, Weiss took off down the path. Once again, she was running with all her strength, shaking her head to ignore the confused shouts she heard behind her. She felt the tears roll down her cheeks, leaving hot trails in their wake.

In the next instant, Weiss felt as if Remnant had stopped. She no longer heard the shouts of her former group members, or any noises of any kind. The colors were gone from her surroundings, replaced with monochrome, as if she were inside an old photo.

In another instant, the world regained its color, though the shouts did not continue. Weiss guessed that it had something to do with Yang. She would have to ask her when she returned.

A few moments later, Weiss arrived at the gate of the shrine, stumbling and gasping for air.

"Welcome back," Yang said, swimming cheerily over to greet Weiss. "Did you say everything you wanted to?"

Weiss could only nod; she was doubled over with her hands on her knees, still struggling for air.

"Don't worry, you'll see them again one day," the dragon said softly, placing a comforting paw on Weiss's shoulder. While searching for Weiss's eyes, Yang noticed the tear trails that remained after the girl's sprint.

Opting to not say anything, Yang simply sent a bit of warmth into Weiss, hoping the feeling would be comforting. Receiving a soft sigh as a response, Yang continued in earnest, focusing entirely on comforting the girl.

For Weiss, the warmth encircled her like a blanket, exactly as she had imagined Yang's warmth would. It made her feel that, for the time being, things would be alright. She sent Yang a grateful look before straightening up and wiping the tears from her face.

"Well, now that I've said my goodbyes, I suppose it's time for me to figure out what I'm going to be doing," Weiss said, clearing her throat and forcing her voice to return to normal.

With what could be assumed was a grin, Yang nodded. "Alright! Let me show you around!"

 **Whew! Chapter one of my new story is officially done! A few notes: Firstly, Takusan is heavily based off of the Shinto religion. I didn't want to worry about getting all the details of Shinto practice correct, so I decided that taking some things from it and adding my own stuff would be the best option. And secondly, as some people may know, "Takusan" means "many" or "lots" in Japanese, which I related to the fact that Takusan is polytheistic. I tend to take a lot of names for things in my stories from other languages, huh? My majors have a lot to do with it. That, and I love languages. They're incredibly fascinating! Well, I think I've rambled on enough. Let me know what you all thought! Until next time~!**

 **P.S: I'm coming up with a schedule for my writing. Check out my profile for details.**


	2. Two Surprises, Twice the Fun?

**Hello, hello! It's chapter two of The Dragon Priestess! The first chapter received a lot of positive feedback, so I'm excited to share chapter two! Thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, and/or reviewed! I love you all! There's a lot of questions to answer and things to address, but that will happen over time, so I hope everyone can look forward to that. Also, I made some edits to chapter one. Nothing major, but it fixes some typos and adds a little bit more to a few scenes. Anyway, as always, more at the bottom, so for now, on with the story!**

 **Note: Dialogue that's all in italics is telepathic conversation. Anything without the quotation marks that's in italics is either thoughts or is italicized for emphasis.**

"So, your main duties will be to pray daily, gather followers, assist in rituals and other duties that come with being a head priestess, and of course, clean and fix the shrine," Yang said, gesturing here and there.

Weiss had initially thought that the shrine was in disarray, though as Yang led her around, she realized that it was basically ready to be demolished. Honestly, she was surprised the place was still standing. The wood in the main structure, as well as in the _torii_ and offside structure was practically rotted through.

"Sorry, but there's a ton of work to do. That's what happens when nobody maintains a shrine for hundreds of years," Yang said sheepishly.

"Ton of work" was an understatement. Weiss was sure that what lay before her was several months' worth of work. She was probably not going to have any free time for a long while.

Yang swam in front of her vision, gesturing to the main structure. "You're gonna live in there. It's a lot bigger than it looks."

The beast paused a minute, fixing Weiss with an apologetic look –or at least as apologetic as a dragon could look. "That's what you've gotta clean first. If you wanna be done by the time it gets dark, you gotta start now. Don't worry though. I'll help you!"

Before any work could be done, Weiss had to make a trip to the nearby chain superstore to purchase cleaning supplies, a sleeping bag, and some food for dinner.

The dragon had managed to hide its presence in order to assist Weiss with carrying her purchases. Apparently, the method altered people's minds around them so that they simply didn't notice the giant golden beast. It was about all Yang could manage with only one follower.

Weiss tried not to think about it too much, instead opting to thank the dragon for the assistance. She heaved a sigh; it was going to be a long day.

When she returned, she quickly set to work. Hundreds of years of disuse had caused the shrine to accumulate a massive amount of dust, not to mention rotten flooring, holes in the wooden doors and their screens, and a draft coming from an unknown location. To Yang's credit, the main building was indeed larger than it looked.

"What do you want me to work on?" Yang asked, swimming into her vision.

Weiss handed the dragon a duster. "Fly up to the ceiling and dust. If you can find the source of the draft up there, let me know."

Yang glanced at the duster curiously before nodding and swimming up to the ceiling.

Weiss rolled up the sleeves of her jacket and tied her hair into a braid; the last thing she wanted was to get her hair dirty and have to find a place to bathe.

Grabbing a duster of her own, she set to work, moving methodically from one spot to the next, leaving no place untouched. If she was going to live here, she wanted it to actually be suitable for living.

To her surprise, Yang worked quietly, only occasionally breaking the silence by asking Weiss a question or two. Perhaps the dragon felt obligated to work as hard as possible to repay Weiss for agreeing to stay and help.

After the deity finished dusting, the small girl handed over a damp cloth, instructing the dragon to wipe down the high beams. She set about doing the same, running the cloth along the walls and floor.

For the time being, nothing could really be done about the holes or the rotting wood, so Weiss focused her energy on what she could do for now. This weekend she would have to figure out some way to replace the rotted wood and patch the holes.

The pair worked in silence until the former heiress's stomach grumbled loudly. Yang chuckled. "Shall we have dinner?"

Weiss agreed, going to one of her unpacked bags and pulling out a sandwich she had purchased from the deli department of the store. "What are you going to eat? There's hardly enough here for both of us."

Yang hummed. "I actually don't need to eat food; prayer and belief are what keep me alive. Gods usually just eat to enjoy taste."

Weiss tilted her head in thought, taking a bite of her sandwich. "Do you have a favorite food?"

The golden dragon brought a talon to its chin, tapping it in thought. "You know, I haven't tried it yet, but I think I'd really like pizza."

Weiss giggled. "Pizza is pretty good. I'll buy some tomorrow."

The two continued to chat long after Weiss finished her sandwich, letting their voices fill the air as the moon began to rise into the sky.

The former heiress yawned, stifling it behind her hand. "I should probably get to sleep. I have to go to school tomorrow after all."

Yang nodded, swimming into the air above Weiss and curling into a ball. "I'll make sure to wake you in time to get to school. And don't worry about papers or class assignments or anything like that. I'll take care of everything."

"Thanks, Yang." With that, Weiss unrolled her sleeping bag and climbed in.

It was early fall in Haven; the days were warm, but the evenings were definitely chilly. A particularly cold gust of wind blew through the shrine, sending a shiver down Weiss's spine. She burrowed into the sleeping bag, bidding a quiet "goodnight" to Yang.

The dragon simply floated there, waiting for the new head priestess to fall asleep. The poor girl had been forced to make an impossible choice, and Yang couldn't even properly thank her for helping. A rundown shrine was hardly a way to welcome Weiss into her new life.

Weiss had certainly been adjusting... surprisingly well. Honestly, the dragon god expected more complaints from the former heiress, who had made it quite clear that she hadn't wanted to be dragged into Yang's predicament. In the near future, Yang guessed, Weiss would take some time to reflect on her choice once things settled down. Yang would be there every step of the way to help her through it; it was the least the dragon could do after all. And despite her earlier reluctance, Weiss had a good heart, and she had ultimately let her conscience decide her fate.

Nearly an hour later, Yang heard something strange. The former heiress had certainly drifted off to sleep, so the dragon was puzzled about the shuddering, clipped breaths coming from Weiss's sleeping bag.

Yang swam down for a closer look.

Weiss was shivering violently, her teeth chattering with just as much vigor. Unconsciously, she had a white-knuckle grip on the edge of the sleeping bag.

Yang's eyes widened. The dragon had an incredibly hot internal temperature, often radiating warmth outwards like a heater, making it hard to determine outside temperature.

Quickly, but gently, Yang settled down behind Weiss, curling around her petite form, ensconcing her firmly within the dragon's warmth.

The shivering slowly began to subside and the tiny girl's breathing began to even out. Her grip on the bag lessened until it was nothing more than a gentle curl around the edge. Something though, was still not right.

Lilac eyes widened as Yang watched tears slowly roll down the sleeping girl's face. The dragon felt its heart nearly shatter.

Yang curled tighter around Weiss, trying to indicate that she was not alone; that someone was there with her who wanted to help her.

Seeing Weiss crying sparked something in Yang; the dragon would do its absolute best to make Weiss happier. But what could the god do? There had to be something.

A flash of red popped into Yang's mind.

 _I've got it._ The beast grinned toothily.

Silently, Yang laid down, humming with contentment at the thought of surprising Weiss tomorrow. _She'll never see it coming._

* * *

Weiss awoke to the sound of birds chirping. _That's strange. I've never heard any birds from my dorm room before._

She opened her eyes slowly, blinking sleep from them as she sat up. _Where is my desk? Why is the ceiling so high?_

"Morning," Yang chirped, uncurling from around Weiss. The dragon rolled its neck, working out a crick.

Weiss was hit by a flood of memories all at once. She lowered herself back to the floor. "I'm going back to bed."

"But you'll be late for school," Yang said, swimming back and forth above the new head priestess.

That got Weiss out of bed quickly. She unzipped the sleeping bag, climbing out and rolling it up. "Where do I get the uniform for Haven Academy?"

Yang swam over to the door, sliding it open and pulling open the donation box. The dragon withdrew a black jacket, a white blouse, and a black and gray checkered skirt. Atop the pile of clothes was a white armband.

"Here you go," Yang said, handing the pile to Weiss, who stared blankly at the dragon.

"Where did you…? You know what? I don't want to know. Now turn around so I can change," Weiss huffed.

Yang obliged, snickering about Weiss's surprise that was waiting for her.

A thought popped into the dragon's head. "Hey, Weiss."

The former heiress half-turned while she zipped her skirt. "Yes?"

"I've got two surprises for you! You'll get one at school and one when you come home," Yang grinned.

Weiss fixed the god with a suspicious look. She narrowed her eyes. "What are you planning…?"

The dragon chuckled. "Nothing bad, I swear! You're gonna love them!"

"Somehow I doubt that," the girl drawled. She grabbed her backpack and headed for the door. "I'll see you later, Yang."

The dragon waved its front leg, snickering. "Have a good day!"

* * *

Weiss arrived at the front gate to Haven Academy ten minutes later. During her walk, she discovered that her jacket pocket had a class schedule, along with a list of names and photos of her classmates and teachers. In her bag, Yang had somehow managed to gather all the textbooks and other materials Weiss would need. Deities were something else, Weiss mused.

Funny enough, nobody paid her any mind as she walked; no whispers, staring, not even a mere glance in her direction. She truly seemed as if she had been a student there the whole time.

Instead of worrying about being out of place, she was free to think back to Yang's snickering. What was that overgrown lizard up to?

Before she could ponder, she heard a voice shout, "Weiss?"

She whipped her head around so fast, she was convinced she nearly snapped her own neck. Running towards her with a hand high above her head in greeting was Pyrrha Nikos.

The tall redhead stopped in front of Weiss, grinning widely. "It really is you, Weiss! I'm so glad to see you!"

Every function in Weiss's brain had stopped. What on _Remnant_ was Pyrrha doing here? Her jaw worked mechanically, moving but not producing any sound.

Pyrrha tilted her head slightly, the smile still on her face. "Is something the matter, Weiss? Are you that surprised to see me?"

Sensing that her vocal chords were not going to cooperate, the new head priestess opted to nod stiffly.

The taller girl let out a laugh. "I'm just as surprised as you are! I can't believe we transferred to Haven Academy on the same day. What are the odds?"

An image of a laughing golden dragon popped into Weiss's mind and she ground her teeth. She knew the _exact_ odds.

Weiss let out a sigh. Even though what Yang had done was _beyond_ unfair to Pyrrha, she was grateful all the same. At least now she wouldn't be as lonely.

There was something that nagged at her though; why did Pyrrha think Weiss had simply transferred while all the other students seemed to think she had always been a student there? The number of questions she had for Yang was growing.

Realizing she hadn't said a word to Pyrrha yet, Weiss coughed. "It's good to see you too, Pyrrha." Silently, Weiss resolved to be friendlier to the redhead; the girl was one of the few people on Remnant that would actually be happy to see her after all.

The two exchanged a warm smile until the school bell rang, signaling that students who weren't already inside should hurry and enter.

Weiss and Pyrrha hurried into the building, confirming that their schedules were the same along the way. No doubt that was Yang's work again. She'd have to thank the overgrown lizard when she returned home.

* * *

The final bell for the day rang and students began packing up, opting to ignore the teacher who was attempting to talk over all the noise. Realizing that nobody was listening, the teacher gave up, leaving with an indignant huff.

Weiss was surprised yet again that nobody questioned hers or Pyrrha's presence in the school. It made her wonder just how much power Yang had. What else could the god do that Weiss didn't know about?

A flash of red appeared in her vision and she looked up into kind emerald eyes. "Hey, Weiss. Since you just transferred to Haven, I was wondering if you'd like me to show you around," Pyrrha said, a friendly smile on her face.

Weiss bit her lip. While she would like to join the taller girl, there was still a lot of work to do around the shrine. There might also be some ritual or another that she had to perform.

 _"It's alright if you want to hang out with her. There's nothing you need to do here that can't wait a little bit."_

Weiss yelped, startling Pyrrha. "Weiss? Is everything alright?"

No, everything was _not_ alright. She heard a voice that was not her own inside her head. " _Yang?!"_

 _"Sorry to scare you like that, Weissy. I can speak to you through telepathy, since you're my head priestess and all," the dragon chuckled._

 _"You couldn't have told me about this before I went out in public?! Are you trying to make me look crazy?!"_

She suddenly remembered Pyrrha; the poor girl was worriedly looking at Weiss. "I'm fine, Pyrrha, really. I just… um… stubbed my toe on the desk leg is all. Sorry about that."

The redhead breathed an audible sigh of relief. "I'm sorry to hear that, though I thought it was something much worse."

Weiss coughed awkwardly. "A-Anyway, I'd love it if you showed me around."

"Wonderful! If you're ready, let's go," Pyrrha said, a wide smile on her face.

 _"You've got a lot of explaining to do when I get home, Yang."_

All she got in response was roaring laughter.

* * *

Pyrrha and Weiss spent the afternoon walking about Haven's streets with Pyrrha pointing out where various shops and attractions were.

Taking advantage of their time together, Weiss made sure to ask her companion various questions about herself, trying to make up for not befriending the redhead earlier.

Pyrrha, of course, was happy to oblige, answering cheerfully and asking Weiss questions of her own; she knew as little about Weiss as Weiss did her. It was a productive time for both of them.

Several hours later, Pyrrha showed Weiss a pizza shop, where the smaller girl ordered a large pie with various toppings to share with Yang when she returned home.

Afterwards, the two parted ways with a promise to see the other tomorrow. Weiss arrived at the steps leading up to the cat god's shrine and began her long and arduous trek back to her new home.

When she arrived at the rotting _torii,_ her legs felt like jelly. She wondered just how much exercise she would get from all the walking each day.

Yang swam forward to greet her. "Welcome back! How was school?"

"Fine," Weiss huffed out, her lungs still burning from her journey.

"And how was your surprise?" The dragon's voice dripped with amusement.

"I can't believe you made Pyrrha transfer here. Why did you do that?" Her tone was one of exasperation, not anger as she questioned the god.

"I didn't want you to be lonely. She seemed like a good friend, and I wanted you to be happy here," Yang said, having the grace to sound somewhat sheepish.

Any snippy reply she'd had was gone at that. She couldn't truly be mad at Yang for wanting to help her. Plus, Pyrrha didn't really seem bothered by the whole situation.

"Well… thank you, Yang. But why does Pyrrha think I transferred while everyone else thinks I've always gone to school at Haven?"

The dragon shrugged. "I thought it would be easier to alter Pyrrha's mind just a little bit rather than completely mess with it. Besides, I'm pretty sure your relationship with your classmates and teachers would be the same either way. You didn't exactly seem to be a social butterfly."

Weiss had no response to that; it was probably true anyway. "Alright, fine. But what about the telepathy stunt you pulled?" Irritation seeped into her voice.

 _"You mean this?"_ Yang's voice was clearly amused.

"Stop that! Explain yourself," Weiss snapped. The overgrown lizard had been getting on her nerves fairly often for how short of a time Weiss had been in Haven. She was beginning to wonder if she hadn't made a huge mistake.

The dragon shrugged. "You're the head priestess and we can talk to each other through our minds. It's out of necessity, since the head priestess and the god are connected on a deeper level than all others. You seemed to get it earlier when you were at school. What's the problem?"

"The problem is that you didn't tell me we could do that and you scared me half to death! Warn me about things like that next time!" Weiss had entered the shrine during the exchange and set the pizza down.

The dragon raised its legs up in a placating fashion. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry and I won't do something like that again without warning you first."

"Good," Weiss huffed, opening the pizza box. "Now come over here so you can try the pizza."

Needing no more incentive, Yang quickly swam over, golden tail swishing happily behind.

Weiss pulled out two slices for Yang and one for herself. They lacked any plates to eat off of, but with pizza, it didn't really matter.

Before the dragon took a bite, it paused, gently setting the slices of the coveted food back inside the box.

"Hey, Weiss! You remember how I said there were two surprises for you?"

The new head priestess nodded warily, mouth already halfway open to take a bite. Her stomach grumbled in protest at the delay.

"I almost forgot about the second one! Are you ready?" Yang asked, tail swishing once more.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Weiss muttered.

Suddenly, she was blinded by a flash of brilliant golden light. She nearly dropped her slice of pizza in her haste to shield her eyes.

From what she could make out, Yang's body began to shrink, changing shape all the while. With a final flash, the transformation was complete.

Sitting in front of Weiss was a tall, well-endowed woman with sun-kissed skin and rippling muscles. A wild mane of blonde hair framed the woman's face and lilac eyes and tumbled down to her waist. Adorning her body were ornate orange robes, decorated with red leaves.

The woman, presumed to be Yang, rolled up her oversized sleeves and grabbed the slices of pizza she had set down.

"Surprise," she cheered before chowing down on her meal.

 **Poor Weiss. Her life is so hard when I'm the author. I'm sure everyone saw Yang's surprise coming, but Weiss certainly didn't! I noticed that I make Pyrrha a prominent character in my stories a lot. What can I say? I love my magnet child! One of these days I'm gonna do a North Pole story, I swear, considering how often Weiss and Pyrrha are buddies in my stories. Also, Yang's robes are basically a kimono, but since Japan doesn't really exist in the story, I didn't just outright say that it was a kimono. The same thing goes for the red leaves. They were meant to look like the Japanese maple leaves, but like I said; Japan doesn't exist in this story. Does that make sense? If there's any confusion, feel free to PM me! Until next time~!**

 **Notes:**

 **Torii: A tall red gate, often made out of wood, that signals the entrance into a shrine. They are often associated with Shinto religion, and thus are prominent for Takusan.**


	3. Coming to Terms

**Hello, hello! I wrote this chapter when I should have been studying for my finals. Oops… I ended up being a bit late because of everything I had to do, but I made it! Now, I wanna to give a big shout-out to everyone who is following, favoriting, and reviewing! Your support really** **means a lot to me! It's been snowing a ton here, so naturally, somebody built a huge snowman. With a dick. I'm pretty sure there is a small child living nearby… Ah well. What can you expect from college students? Anyway, on with the chapter~!**

"Surprise," Yang cheered before digging into the pizza.

All functions in Weiss's brain stopped. One minute, she was about to have dinner with a dragon; the next, a woman sat in place where the dragon had once been, seemingly oblivious to the plight of the ivory-haired girl next to her.

Yang munched on her slice of pizza, enjoying the taste of the various toppings, cheese, sauce, and dough. It was a rather bizarre food, but she felt it was something she could get addicted to.

As she was about to take her next bite, she noticed Weiss hadn't so much as twitched since her reveal. She nudged the frozen girl with her elbow. "What's wrong? Did I surprise you that much?" she teased, taking a large bite.

That seemed to jumpstart Weiss's brain. "Are you stupid?! Of course that surprised me! You were a dragon and now you're a human! And you're a woman!"

"I've always been female. You didn't know?" Yang asked, tilting her head and furrowing her brow in confusion.

"How was I _supposed_ to know that?!" Weiss screeched.

Yang winced. "Geez! I thought it was pretty obvious. I'm sleek and my voice is pretty high for a dragon deity, you know."

Weiss slapped a hand over her face, dragging it down slowly. She was dealing with a goddess who was completely and totally insane. That was the only explanation for how she could possibly think Weiss would know she was female in her draconic form. "No, I don't know. I've never met a dragon prior to you, so I had no way to know." Her volume had lowered, though her voice was strained, as if she was just one step away from screaming.

"Well, I guess you know now, huh? So what do you think? Am I attractive?" Yang asked, waggling her golden brows suggestively.

Weiss simply groaned, electing to ignore the obvious bait. If she were to be completely honest… Yang was definitely attractive, though telling the dragon goddess would likely inflate her ego beyond repair. "You didn't explain how you could turn into a human."

"Ah, right," Yang said, swallowing her latest bite of pizza. "Basically, I started as a beast, a representation of the sun in a more physical and tangible form. Along the way, people began to imagine a human form that the gods could change into at will to discretely interact with humanity. I'm sure you've heard of such things in Atlesian and Valian mythology as well." Weiss nodded. "Anyway, when people's faith and perception of gods change, so too does our existence. That make sense?"

Weiss's brow furrowed. "I think so… So if I decided that you would be a child instead of a woman…"

"Then I'd become a child. Since you're my only follower, your perceptions of me will have great influence on my appearance." Yang confirmed her thoughts before grinning mischievously. "But I think you'd like this form better. I've been told I'm quite the looker!"

Weiss huffed, ignoring yet another attempt at baiting her. "If my perception of you changes rapidly, would you change just as quickly? It might be useful if you need to leave the shrine for any reason."

Yang hummed, glancing upward in thought. "You know, I'm not sure. I can't remember ever trying it, and by the time I thought about it, I had too many followers to test it out with."

Weiss let out a hum of her own as she picked up her first slice of pizza and took a bite.

The past few days had been a whirlwind of activity, and she could hardly process anything. Every time she thought she finally understood something, Yang would throw something new at her and send her back to where she started, more confused than ever before.

If she was to be honest, nothing had truly set in. Everything felt incredibly surreal, as if she were an observer watching the events unfold around her, rather than experiencing it herself. The fact that she was sitting around and eating pizza with a _goddess_ was something she couldn't fathom. It all felt like a dream.

"…Yang?"

The goddess paused in her eating. "Hm? What's up?"

"Is this… a dream?" Weiss asked, her voice quiet and vulnerable as she bit her lip. She felt like a wave of uncertainty had crashed over her, suddenly dragging her under until she felt like she was drowning. It had finally dawned on her just how little she understood about her situation, and it scared her.

"What?"

Ice-blue eyes locked on amethyst. "Did I really become the head priestess to a dragon goddess for a religion I know nothing about? Did I truly leave behind my family –my life—to be a part of something I don't understand?" Her voice was so fragile, so close to breaking, it made Yang's heart twist within her chest.

The goddess set her meal down, hanging her head so her golden bangs obscured her eyes. "This isn't a dream, Weiss. You really did leave everything that you knew and loved behind to help me."

Weiss shot up, her fists clenched and her eyes brimming with tears. A mixture of fury, confusion, and sorrow marred her features as she screamed at the dragon. "Why _me_?! I didn't ask for this!"

"I know you didn't," Yang whispered, raising her head slowly, the guilt plain on her face. She had been so happy to be awake after so long, she hadn't taken much time to consider the gravity of what she had asked of Weiss.

The poor girl was suffering, confused, and she didn't trust Yang enough to share her fears with the goddess. Even Pyrrha, the only small source of familiarity and comfort that Yang could provide, couldn't understand what she was going through. Besides the dragon goddess, Weiss was truly alone in her plight.

"Am I cursed?! _Why_ is this happening to me?!" She screeched, her voice raw with emotion. Everything she had ignored, every bit of confusion she had pushed away, was bursting from her like a geyser. The only one she could turn all of her pent-up emotions on was Yang, who sat and took everything.

Weiss collapsed to her knees, clutching her head as her tears spilled forth endlessly. It wasn't entirely fair to completely blame Yang –Weiss had been the one to relent after all—but the emotions whirling inside her mind urged her to blame the only other person she could.

It hurt. Yang's reveal had been the tipping point, the thing that pushed her mind past the barrier she had built. She had shackled herself to something that she knew she would be unable to escape from, and it hurt. Even if her life at home and school hadn't been great, it had at least been familiar, comfortable. Now, she was alone.

Hesitantly, Yang reached for the trembling girl, gently laying a hand on her shoulder. When Weiss didn't push her away, she wrapped her head priestess in a tight hug, tucking the head of ivory locks beneath her chin.

"You're not cursed, Weiss," she whispered, putting as much tenderness into her voice as she could. "I'm so sorry that I've let you suffer like this. I know you don't trust me, but I promise I'm here for you no matter what. I'm going to do my absolute best to make your life here better, no matter what it takes."

The smaller girl only sniffled, the sobs wracking her body lessening just a bit.

Yang continued to hold her, petting through her hair and whispering reassurances until she calmed down, sniffling only on occasion. She wrapped her arms around the goddess, giving a gentle squeeze. "Thank you, Yang," she whispered.

The goddess gave a squeeze of her own. "I should be the one thanking you, since I'm the one putting you through all this stress. I promise that I won't let you suffer alone any longer. We'll move forward together."

Weiss bit her lip, tears threatening to burst forth once more at the words she needed to hear. She tightened her hold on Yang before nodding. "Together."

That night, Weiss climbed into her sleeping bag before Yang returned to her dragon form and wrapped herself around the ivory-haired girl, firmly ensconcing her in warmth. Weiss wouldn't admit it out loud just yet, but it made her feel safe and relaxed.

The new head priestess fell asleep that night feeling a little less unsure. Perhaps this whole thing could work out after all.

* * *

After another day of school and another day of getting to know Pyrrha, Weiss returned to the shrine to find Yang in her dragon form setting up four poles in a box shape.

"Welcome back!" The goddess seemed to be in a particularly good mood as she swam towards Weiss, something akin to a smile resting on her draconic features.

"What are you doing, Yang?" Weiss asked as she entered the main structure and set her bag down. Today was Friday, so she would be able to relax for a few days unless Yang had things for her to do.

"I'm setting up the area for a ritual," the dragon chirped, gesturing to the structure with her front leg.

Right. Weiss hadn't done any of her duties yet. She hadn't even prayed, though it seemed that the dragon goddess was more than willing to let it go as Weiss adjusted to her new life.

"What kind of a ritual is it? What do I have to do?"

The dragon hummed before swimming over to the offering box and pulling out some robes. The top garment was white, likely made of cotton, and had incredibly large sleeves. It was a lot like the upper part of Yang's outfit, which she had referred to as a _kimono_. The bottom garment was a pair of ice-blue pants with extremely large legs. Weiss was failing to see the practicality of the outfit, but considering it was part of the religion, she decided it would be better to not question it.

"Put these on first," Yang said before handing the clothes over and turning around.

Weiss glanced at the clothes before staring at the offering box. "How does that thing even work? Is there some portal to another world in there or something?"

The dragon goddess chuckled. "In a way. I can store stuff in there, like your robes, and it will never age. Time doesn't really move in there. For stuff like your school uniform, it's a bit more complicated, but we can save that for later."

With a non-committal hum, Weiss began to get changed. Yang explained took that chance to explain. "Those are your priestess robes. You'll probably be spending most of your time in them while you're here. They have to be worn for all official shrine business, like prayer, chants, and other stuff like that."

"They're certainly… unique," Weiss mused as she struggled to tie the top in place. The large sleeves kept obscuring her view of the knot, making it far harder than it should have been to get the clothes on.

"I made the pants blue because I thought you'd like them that color. Usually, their coloring will match the color most often associated with the god. So in my case, your pants would have either been yellow or orange." Upon hearing something similar to a disgusted grunt, Yang chuckled.

"I know, and that's why they are blue instead. As far as the style goes, I couldn't tell you why everything is so big. I suppose most of the clothes were like that when I was at the height of my power."

"When was that?"

Yang tapped a talon to her jaw. "A few centuries ago, I guess. I didn't keep track of time very well."

The new head priestess couldn't help but feel a little… insignificant. Her lifespan of 17 years so far was nothing more than the blink of an eye to the dragon goddess. It certainly put some things into perspective.

As Weiss struggled to pull on the pants and tuck in the top, Yang continued her explanation. "When you're wearing those clothes, your spiritual awareness goes up, so you'll basically be able to detect things that aren't mortal, or have more spiritual presence than the average person. Your fellow shrine maidens fall into the latter category."

When Weiss finally finished changing, she tapped on Yang's back, signaling the dragon that it was alright to turn around. When she did so, she shifted into her human form and approached Weiss.

"Not bad for your first try," she said, grinning as she adjusted the robes. "The sleeves are a pain in the butt, but you'll get used to it after a while."

When everything was in order, she led Weiss into the middle of the square she had set up. "Ah, one more thing; you'll have increased resistance to both physical and spiritual attacks while you wear them, but you won't be impervious, so don't get cocky." She grinned.

"What on Remnant am I going to be fighting?!" Weiss blurted, a look of incredulous horror on her face. Whatever she had signed up for, it certainly hadn't entailed fighting.

Yang raised her hands defensively. "Relax! That's just a precaution! You're not ready for exorcisms or anything like that yet."

" _Exorcisms_?!" Weiss screeched. She had _definitely_ not signed up for that.

Yang put her hands on the smaller girl's shoulders, grounding her. "Relax, Weiss! That's something you don't even have to _think_ about until much later. Even if an exorcism needed to be done, the cat god's head priestess would take care of it."

Weiss had completely forgotten about the cat god whose shrine was up that ridiculously long flight of stairs that she climbed every day. "Speaking of them, when will I meet them?" she said after taking a breath.

The goddess perked up. "Oh, you actually wanna meet them? We can do it after the ceremony if you'd like." Her eyes sparkled with excitement; it had been centuries since she had talked to anyone after all.

Weiss nodded. "That sounds fine. Now let's get this over with."

"Gimme just a second," Yang said as she gestured toward the offering box. Slowly, a band of ice-blue fabric and a rod with several ribbons streaming from it rose, gently gliding over to the goddess.

The fabric turned out to be a headband, embroidered with a symbol that was akin to a heart on fire –a burning heart rather. Yang handed the rod to Weiss before she stepped up behind the smaller girl.

"You're gonna need your hair down for this. Do you wanna get it, or do you want me to?"

"It's fine if you let my hair down. Just be careful," Weiss said, the tone of her voice promising pain for the dragon goddess should she damage her hair.

"Don't you worry, Weiss! In case you haven't noticed, I've got a pretty nice mane of my own. I know what I'm doing," Yang said confidently before gently taking out Weiss's tiara hair piece.

Weiss closed her eyes, rather enjoying the feeling of Yang's warm fingers running gently and carefully through her hair.

Yang removed the hair tie that bound the smaller girl's hair, slipping the band around her wrist for the time being as she tied the headband. She made sure to tie it firmly without being too tight, the last thing she wanted was to cut off blood flow.

Sure that it was secure, Yang stepped back. "Alright! That looks pretty good! Now we get into the important stuff."

"Wait, what is the headband for?" Weiss asked, running her fingers across the symbol, black against the blue of the band.

"It's specific to ceremonies; it increases the bond between the god and the priestess. Think of it as a focus band," Yang said as she stepped back in front of Weiss.

"Now, let's get down to business! I'll keep today's ceremony simple, since it's your first one." From her oversized sleeve, she pulled out a rod similar to the one Weiss held, bringing it up until it was parallel to her shoulders.

"This is a ceremonial staff. Like just about everything else, it increases your bond with me and your spiritual focus," Yang explained. "The purpose of this ceremony is to create the first spiritual connection between the two of us. Just try and copy what I do, alright? We'll add the chant after you've got the movements down."

With a nod from Weiss, Yang began to step left and right, keeping her movements slow so her new head priestess could follow along. The steps were fairly simple, consisting of not much more than movement from left to right.

The movements of the staff were a bit trickier, as each step required a swing of some kind. After about 20 steps, there was a flourish that had Weiss pointing the staff upwards before centering it vertically at her torso. It was there that Yang stopped her movements.

"Alright. Here is where you would say the chant. Make sure to close your eyes when you say the words and picture them flowing towards me. This is something like an exchanging of words between the gods and their followers."

She stepped up to Weiss and brought a hand up to her cheek. "I'm gonna send the words into your mind, OK?"

"Is this going to make me feel sick?" Weiss asked suspiciously. Her last encounter was when Yang searched through her brain for the history of the world. It was completely disorienting and nauseating.

The goddess shook her head. "Now that you're wearing those robes, you won't react as strongly to my abilities. This is gonna feel weird, but it won't make you sick. I promise."

With a hesitant nod from Weiss, Yang pressed their foreheads together, sending the words of the chant into the mind of the priestess.

Yang had been right; it did feel bizarre. The thoughts were like water, flowing from Yang's mind into hers in a steady stream. She wasn't sure what to make of it, but at least she wasn't nauseous.

When the transfer finished, the goddess pulled away slightly, opening her eyes but keeping a hand on Weiss's cheek. "You feel alright?"

The smaller girl nodded slightly. "Yes, I'm fine."

With a smile, Yang stepped back into her place. "Alright, we're gonna do it from the top –chant and all. Ready?"

"Wait… why didn't you just send the knowledge of the steps into my mind too?" Weiss asked slowly, unsure if such a thing was possible.

Yang blinked before a sheepish grin broke out across her face. "I didn't think of it until we got to the chant…"

The new head priestess simply sighed before taking up her position. "I'm ready."

With a nod from Yang, the two began the ceremony, their movements mirroring one another, though Weiss's were distinctly less sure of themselves. When they reached the chant, the two spoke in unison.

"At the edges of my recollection, the distant promise

That continues for eternity sways silently.

Destroy the Transient World

That is drenched in sadness.

Exchanging my despair for loneliness, I raised it with love,

All alone,

Until the day I met you.

Come to this place,

And let us overlap our hearts.

I will take out your thorns.

I pray to the future that has crumbled to ruin.

Raise a shout,

And let us share a kiss."

With the chant finished, the two opened their eyes. Weiss let out a sigh before the final words sank in. "'Let us share a _kiss_?!" she screeched.

The dragon goddess winced, raising her hands in a placating fashion. "Hey, hey! We don't actually have to do what it says! It was done in the past to more firmly bond the head priestess to the god. Since it's just you and I, I'd say we're pretty close already."

Weiss grumbled, before a nagging thought crept up. "Will it be necessary at some point?" she asked slowly, somewhat dreading the answer.

Yang gave another sheepish smile. "…Yes."

Without wasting another second, Weiss closed the distance and pressed a feather-light kiss to the goddess's lips. Instantly, she could feel something like a string connect from her heart to Yang's. It wasn't uncomfortable, but she felt a strong pull to be near the dragon goddess.

Yang's amethyst eyes were wide with disbelief. "I… you…"

"I wanted to get it over with now so it won't be hanging over our heads. Nothing more. Got it?" Weiss huffed, jabbing a finger towards the still-flabbergasted goddess. She hoped that the blush on her face wasn't too strong.

Yang nodded slowly, not taking her eyes off of Weiss's lips. "Shall we head up to the cat god's place now?" Her words were a lot slower than she wanted, but there was something like a fog blanketing her mind. It wasn't that Weiss had done anything wrong, but there was something different about that kiss than the ones she'd shared with the previous priestesses.

Weiss turned and made her way towards the path leading to the stairs of the cat god's shrine. "Yes, let's go."

The two made their way down the path, with neither able to look at the other.

 **And chapter 3 is complete! The words for the chant were taken from the song "Utsusemi" by Akiko Shikata. I felt that many of the lyrics were very fitting. Feel free to imagine the chant's rhythm, since I didn't really have one in mind. This was a bit tricky to write, as I wanted to make sure the world-building was clear. If there's any confusion, or if you're just curious about anything, feel free to PM me and ask! Next chapter we will finally get to meet the neighbors! I hope y'all look forward to it! Until next time~!**


	4. Meet the Neighbors

**Hello, hello! It's chapter 4! I want to give everyone a quick heads-up: I'm heading into finals soon, so I'll be really busy by the time the end of the month rolls around. I don't** _ **think**_ **AJAR will be late, but it's hard to say for sure. On a different note, shout-out to everyone who has been supporting my works! Y'all are lovely! And one other thing: there will be a little surprise for everyone next week! I hope y'all'll look forward to it!**

* * *

"How… many… stairs… are… there…?" Weiss huffed, her lungs and thighs burning with each step up. If anyone asked, she would have sworn on her life that she had been climbing for hours, though she knew rationally that it had only been a few minutes at most.

"Hm? Want me to head up and take a look?" Yang said, gliding up the stairs, her feet hovering just a few inches above them. It was that ease and the nonchalance of Yang's reply that made Weiss seriously considering throttling the goddess, divine punishment be damned.

Weiss scowled at the blonde, pausing for a moment to breathe so her lungs wouldn't rupture.

Yang raised her hands in a placating fashion, grinning sheepishly. "Alright, so the look you're giving me tells me that's not what you want." She tapped a finger to her chin. "Want me to give you a lift up there?"

For a half a second, Weiss seriously considered the offer; the idea of not having to climb even one more step on these hellish stairs tantalized her like the offer of water after wandering for days in a desert. _But,_ her pride wouldn't allow for such an _embarrassment_. She would never be able to go out in public again if anyone saw Weiss Schnee being _carried_.

"No. I want you to walk up these steps and suffer like I am," she nearly growled, though the winded tone of her voice took a bit of the edge off.

Yang tilted her head quizzically before grinning. "Alright. I'll climb them with you."

Before they resumed their climb on the stairway to hell, Yang leaned forward slightly to meet Weiss's eyes, amusement shimmering in her amethyst orbs. "The offer to carry you is still open if you change your mind later."

If Weiss hadn't been so damn tired, she probably would have pushed the smug goddess down the stairs. As it stood though, she needed to focus her energy on making it up the stairs to the cat god's shrine.

Fortunately for Weiss, Yang kept quiet for the most part, though Weiss could see the goddess's wide grin out of the corner of her eye. There was something she was missing as her thighs burned with each step, something that Yang would likely point out later that would make her wonder if it was possible to kill a god.

For now, she would ignore the goddess and focus on the monumental task in front of her. Honestly, how was anyone supposed to pray at the shrine if nobody could reach the damn thing? Wasn't it a popular shrine? How did anybody other than fitness buffs come to pray? Were the stairs considered a test of faith?

Weiss shook her head, dislodging the ridiculous thought from her mind. There was no way that was the case. The shrine wasn't a gym. She was simply tired and being ridiculous as a result.

Still… perhaps she should consider working out if these visits were going to be on a regular basis.

"We're almost there, Weiss! The torii is just up ahead," Yang said cheerfully, pointing to the pristine red gate looming on the horizon.

After a several more grueling steps, they reached the top of the stairs, where Weiss promptly doubled over, bracing her hands on her thighs and taking deep, gasping breaths. She really was out of shape.

Yang on the other hand, didn't look any different than when she had been gliding her way up. There wasn't even a single hair out of place or a bead of sweat trailing down her brow.

"Why… aren't you tired?" Weiss asked slowly, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

The dragon goddess grinned. "I'm a goddess. It'll take a lot more than some stairs to tire me out."

Weiss brought a hand to her forehead. Honestly, why hadn't she thought of that? A goddess with virtually limitless power surely wouldn't tire from climbing stairs like a mere mortal. She couldn't even be mad at Yang about it; she had been the one to skip over the obvious conclusion.

"By the way, you weren't just imagining it; you really were climbing the stairs for hours."

Weiss whipped around to face the grinning goddess, her mouth gracelessly hanging open. " _What?!"_ she hissed.

Yang held her hands up defensively. "When you visit a shrine as a priestess or god, you go through a different sort of space than the average person does. We basically cross over into the divine plane and then arrive back in the earthly one."

"Why the hell would you do it that way?! What's the point?!" Weiss screeched, though she was still heavily winded.

"It's to ensure the security of the shrine. The divine plane can detect the intent of the god and bar them from entering if they have less-than-friendly intentions," Yang said, gesturing at the torii. "We wouldn't have reached this point if either one of us intended to do harm."

Weiss paused, her anger temporarily abating in her curiosity. "What would happen if we harbored ill intent?"

Yang shrugged. "It depends on the god. Most of the time, you'll simply be cast out of the plane and back into whatever shrine you came from. If the god's particularly vindictive or mischievous, you'll just climb the stairs for all eternity."

"Eternity?!"

"Or at least until you give up. Most attackers aren't stubborn enough to go for eternity." Yang's gaze turned to the rather ornate and well-kept shrine that lay beyond the gate. "Anyway, enough about that. Ready to head in?"

Weiss nearly protested, but she decided she might as well move on and do what she actually came here to do. She trailed just a step behind Yang as she took in her surroundings.

It had been late afternoon when they had left for the shrine, but now the sun was approaching the horizon, casting long shadows across the grounds and dyeing everything orange. It was likely almost 6:00PM, so there weren't many people around, most of them at home preparing for dinner.

Off to her left, there was a small, boxy fountain, spouting water from various holes in the structure down into the surrounding basin. Resting on the rim of said basin were what looked like small wooden bowls with sticks attached. Weiss guessed they were used to cleanse and purify the visitors before they began their prayer.

Just to the right of the main structure was a window that peered into a shop, one that sold various protective charms and other blessed items. Behind the shop was a large, unmarked building, likely a storage shed or something similar.

Overall, the shrine was in impeccable condition, and it was far larger than Yang's own. Weiss supposed that the more popular shrines looked much like this one, and that Yang's had been relegated to something of a median or minor god.

When they approached the main structure, a small girl, likely in her mid-teens, dashed over from the charm shop and nearly skidded to a stop in front of them. She was clearly a priestess, judging by the robes she wore, though the oversized pants were a purple color that was a few shades darker than Yang's eyes.

"Hey there! You must be a priestess," the girl said, her silver eyes sparkling with interest.

Weiss cleared her throat. "I am. I'm the head priestess to the goddess Yang Xiao Long," she said as she gestured to her grinning companion, who gave a friendly wave.

The girl bowed respectfully, her red-tipped black hair swishing around her face. "It is an honor to meet you, Exalted One. Would you like for me to alert my goddess of your presence?"

"No need for the title. Just 'Yang' is fine," she said with a laugh, waving away the formality. "And I can get Blake out here no problem."

Both Weiss and the other priestess shared a curious look before turning their gaze to Yang, whose grin had grown. The blonde goddess cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Blake didn't come out here to greet us? That's paw-ful! This is a cat-tasrophe!"

A second later, a small, black cat appeared from the main shrine structure, sauntering over and sitting in front of the trio, its amber gaze trained on Yang. "I think your jokes have gotten worse since you went into slumber. Have you gotten rusty?"

Weiss would have groaned at Yang's terrible puns, but she was more focused on the cat that just spoke. She whipped around to look at the dragon goddess who had burst into laughter.

"Ouch! No mercy even after all these years, huh? I thought they were a-mew-sing," Yang said, feigning hurt with a grin that only grew larger by the second.

The cat gave the blonde a look that Weiss could only describe as a mix between exasperation and a glare, if such a thing was even possible for a cat. Perhaps she and the animal had something in common.

Yang raised her hands in surrender before wrapping an arm around Weiss's shoulder and pulling her into her side. "Alright, I'll stop for now. Anyway, Blake, this is my new head priestess, Weiss!"

Weiss dipped her head, mimicking the other priestess's earlier actions. "It is a pleasure to meet you…" she paused, "Exalted One?"

The cat snorted. "As Yang said, you can skip the formalities; you're a head priestess after all. You may call me 'Blake.'"

Before Weiss could respond, bright light flashed from the cat before its form shifted to that of a tall, slender woman. She had wavy black hair that settled near the small of her back, and was clad in a kimono like Yang's, though it was black in color with purple tree branches adorning its fabric. Atop the woman's head was a pair of small cat ears that flicked every so often.

The woman placed a hand on the other priestess's shoulder. "This is my head priestess, Ruby. If you have any questions regarding your duties or other such matters, please ask her."

Ruby smiled brightly. "It's nice to meet you, Weiss! I hope we can be friends!"

"Well, now that introductions are over, why don't you talk with Ruby for a bit? I bet there's some stuff you want to ask her," Yang said, releasing Weiss and moving towards Blake.

The smaller priestess grabbed Weiss's hand, leading her towards the charm shop. "Come on, Weiss! There's so much to talk about!"

Weiss didn't even have time to protest before she was dragged away.

The two goddesses chuckled before Blake fixed her amber gaze on Yang. "So you two have done the initial bonding ceremony. How did that go?"

Blake wasn't sure what she expected, but a slight blush from the usually-unflappable blonde goddess certainly wasn't it. Yang's gaze slid to the ground as she gently scratched her cheek.

"She was against it at first, but when I told her we'd have to kiss eventually, she surprised me and kissed me right away."

Blake tilted her head, one of her ears flicking with the revelation. "So? You've kissed plenty of girls before. Why does this one have you blushing like a maiden?"

Yang spluttered, her amethyst eyes whipping up to meet the cat goddess's amber. "I'm not blushing," she said, her flushed cheeks contradicting her directly.

"Right," Blake drawled with a roll of her eyes.

Sensing that she wouldn't be convincing anyone, Yang sighed, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. "I don't know. Maybe it's because I haven't kissed anyone in a long time, or maybe it's because I have something of a crush on her."

"Why don't you try courting her?" The cat goddess was certainly interested at this point. She couldn't recall a time when Yang had been so affected by someone.

The dragon goddess shook her head. "I don't even know if it's a crush yet. And even if it was, it would be way too early to ask her out. She's got so much stuff that she's dealing with right now, and I wouldn't want to add to that by courting her and making her feel pressured to respond just because she's my head priestess."

Blake nodded, a warm smile on her face. That was exactly the kind of response she expected from Yang. She cared about people far too much to put her needs above theirs.

"A matter for later then," she said, placing a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder.

Yang smiled back, enjoying her time with her friend after so long.

Her mood didn't stay long though as her brow furrowed, a dark look crossing her features. "What happened to the bull god after I went into slumber?"

Blake flinched. "He… was thrown into the depths of _Shinokuni_. He's been damned to spend eternity there."

"That's what he gets for attacking another god and attempting to take over _Tenbasho,"_ Yang growled, her hands tightened into fists to the point of drawing blood. Her teeth ground, recalling the now-former god that had cast her into a several-hundred-year-long slumber.

"Does Weiss know?" Blake asked quietly, shifting her gaze over to the two priestesses. Ruby was talking animatedly while Weiss tried her best to keep up with the other girl's enthusiasm.

Yang looked away. "I… only told her that I lost all of my faith. She doesn't know why."

"You have to tell her sooner than later. She needs to know what happened to her goddess. She _deserves_ to know if you want to trust each other," the cat goddess said, her tone leaving no room for argument. She understood Yang's hesitance, especially considering what happed as a result of the vicious attack, but there could never be trust between the two if they kept secrets.

Yang gritted her teeth. "I know," she muttered, "I will."

* * *

After talking to Ruby for several minutes, Weiss came to the conclusion that she had no idea what the girl was talking about. She kept telling Weiss about all the different charms and festivals they held at the shrine, but Ruby might as well have been speaking to a wall; Weiss was having trouble keeping up with the girl's talking speed and nearly boundless energy. It was exhausting.

"Alright, alright. Can I ask you a question?" she asked, deciding that she had better step in before they were talking until morning.

Ruby visibly brightened. "Sure, Weiss! What do you want to know?"

"How did you come to be the head priestess for this shrine?" It was a good start, and it would be interesting to find out if Ruby's circumstances were similar to her own.

The dark-haired priestess hummed. "If I remember right, I came to this shrine about 40 years ago, and—"

"40 years ago?! But you look like you're younger than me," Weiss screeched, cutting the other girl off.

Ruby held up her hands. "I'll get to that, so just hold on! Anyway, I became the head priestess when I met Blake in her cat form. Apparently, only those with particularly high spiritual awareness can see gods when then don't want to be seen. That's why nobody has been bothering Blake since she transformed."

"And? How does that tie into you looking like you're 12?" Weiss said, crossing her arms and tapping her foot. She was getting more impatient by the minute.

Ruby's brow furrowed, her bottom lip jutting out. "Hey! I was 15 when I became the head priestess." She coughed awkwardly then, glancing towards the ground with a slight blush. "Uh… so Blake asked me to become her head priestess, and I eventually accepted. Then some stuff happened and so I'll look like this for a long time."

"Ruby, that statement could not have explained less. What 'stuff' happened?" the ivory-haired priestess asked, her tone tight.

The shorter priestess wouldn't meet Weiss's gaze. "It's not something for me to tell you. If you wanna know, you'll have to ask Yang."

Weiss could tell that she would not get anything out of Ruby, even if she pushed, so she let it go with a huff. "Fine. What can you tell me about gathering faith? Yang told me that I didn't have to worry about it yet, but I'd rather know what I will be doing ahead of time."

The smaller priestess's gaze finally raised from the ground, her blush fading away. "Oh! 'Gathering faith' means you try and get people to come and pray at your god's shrine. You need people to believe that there is a deity who will listen to their worries and guide them."

It seemed to be exactly what Weiss had been thinking, but that wasn't the question Weiss really wanted answered. "Do you have any suggestions for gathering faith?"

Ruby hummed. "You guys are just down the stairs right? Off of this really hidden path, right?" Weiss nodded. "Then I'd say you should get the shrine cleaned up first. Nobody would want to pray at a shrine that looks like it has been abandoned. After that, make the pathway look nice so people don't think they're wandering into the woods. Maybe put a sign up or pave the walkway once all that's done?"

Weiss blinked. She hadn't expected Ruby to give her such… logical answers. She had expected the girl to concoct some crazy plan, but perhaps Weiss was simply projecting Nora onto her. "That's… actually pretty smart. We'll have to do that."

The smaller girl's brow furrowed, pouting again. "Don't treat me like I'm dumb! I'm a lot older than you, you know!"

"Maybe if you acted like it, I wouldn't have mistaken you for a child," Weiss huffed.

Before any arguing could actually start, Yang floated over, resting a hand on her head priestess's shoulder. "Alright, Weiss. Don't pick on her too much, yeah?" She jerked a thumb over in Blake's direction. "Blake wants to talk to you, anyhow."

"What would she want with me?" Weiss wondered, raising an eyebrow.

Yang simply shrugged. "Dunno, but this is a good chance for you to get acquainted with the neighbor."

Weiss sighed and made her way over, leaving Yang and Ruby behind to get to know each other.

Blake was facing away from her as she approached, but the twitch of her ears indicated that she heard Weiss's approach. When the priestess was but a few steps away, Blake turned, a small smile on her face. "What do you think of Ruby? Do you think you two can be friends?"

Weiss huffed. "She's extremely hyper, but… most likely we can."

"I'm glad to hear that. Now, I can tell you're curious, but you should really ask Yang about Ruby's situation. It would be best to hear it from the lips of your own goddess," Blake said, a hint of amusement behind her words.

Weiss really shouldn't have been surprised. Besides being a goddess, Blake seemed to be rather intelligent, so there was no doubt she would have been able to read Weiss like a book.

"I'd be happy to answer any other questions though," Blake offered good-naturedly.

"Am I… in over my head? I'm struggling to come to terms with everything that's happened, and I can't help but wonder if I'll be able to handle it all," Weiss muttered, her voice barely above a whisper. Normally, she would have died before airing her concerns out to someone she just met, but there was a calming aura that Blake gave off that made Weiss feel like she could be trusted.

Blake's gaze softened. "I know it seems overwhelming now, but give it time and you will get used to everything. And don't forget that Yang will be there with you every step of the way. She truly does care about you, and she wants nothing more than to make sure that you're comfortable and happy."

Relying on someone was something very new to Weiss –growing up in an incredibly strict household forced her to become self-reliant—but she knew after their exchange not long ago, Weiss could put her faith in Yang. The goddess certainly had shown that she was someone Weiss could trust.

Weiss nodded, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again. "Alright. I will… try to rely on her more. Thank you, Blake."

The cat goddess chuckled. "Of course. It is the duty of the gods to listen to those with troubles. Now, was there anything else?"

Before Weiss could respond, her stomach growled loudly, sounding not unlike a whale. She hurried to cover it, flushing crimson. "No. I think it's time for us to return home."

Saving Weiss any further embarrassment, Blake called out to her priestess. "Ruby? Would you bring some of the leftover soup for Weiss and Yang to take home?"

"Of course," came the enthusiastic reply before she ran inside the shop building.

A moment later, she returned with a large bowl in hand, walking carefully so as not to spill. "It's cream stew," she chirped, handing the bowl over to Weiss, who thanked her and promptly gave it to Yang.

The pair said their goodbyes before heading off down the stairs. When they had gotten out of sight of the shrine, Weiss stopped.

"Will we have to go back through the heavenly plane again?" she muttered.

"Yup. Gotta head through both ways," Yang said, taking a whiff of the stew as she did so.

Weiss looked around, checking for anyone who might be looking at them before whirling around and facing Yang. "Carry me back. There is no way I'm walking for hours to get home again."

Yang grinned before she opened her mouth, but the finger thrust into her face prevented her from saying what could very well have been her last words. "And if you say anything about this, I'll make you wish you were still asleep. Got it?"

The blonde goddess nodded, grin still present on her face. She crouched down so Weiss could climb onto her back, and once the priestess had latched on, she rose off the ground and glided her way down, containing her laughter the entire way back.

* * *

 **It's done! Mostly just world building this time around, but I think it gives plenty of taste for what is to come. Let me know what y'all thought! Until next time~!**

 **Notes:**

 **Shinokuni (** **死の国** **): Literally means "country of death." It is the hell of Takusan. It is rare for a god to be banished to there unless they were to commit a grave offense, such as attacking another god or striking down mortals for no reason.**

 **Tenbasho (** **天場所** **): Literally means "heavenly place." Taken from the Japanese word "tengoku (** **天国** **)" which means "heaven." It has been referred to as "the heavenly plane" by Yang, and serves as the living place for the gods when they don't reside in their shrine. At present, there are no details for what it is like there, though it was nearly destroyed hundreds of years before the beginning of the story.**


	5. Ignorance Isn't Always Bliss

**Hello, hello! I'm super late on this, but better late than never, right? This chapter gave me a bit of trouble in how I wanted to handle everything, but I hope that it turned out alright nonetheless! ("Flower Garden" by yanaginagi really helped me get into the right mood for this!) I've been struggling with motivation this summer, so I'm hoping that this chapter will help me get back into the swing of writing again. As always, I want to thank everybody supporting me! I love y'all! Enjoy~!**

* * *

The return trip home was much faster than their initial trek, the wind rushing past Weiss as Yang flew them down the steps back towards the shrine. Weiss squinted at the trees and such as they flew, trying to see if she could discern whether they were in the astral plane or not.

Yang tilted her head back slightly, a grin on her face. "Try focusing a bit less on what you _can_ see, and more on what you _can't._ "

Weiss blinked before scowling. "And how am I supposed to do that? That doesn't even make sense."

Yang laughed, her speed unchanging as she brought two fingers up near Weiss's icy orbs. "You're using your physical eyes to see, which is what you are used to doing. Since you became my head priestess and we completed the first bonding ritual, you now have spiritual eyes at your disposal too. Pretty cool, huh?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Yes, very." Her voice couldn't have been drier. "Now how do I use them?"

The goddess closed her eyes, though her flight path never changed. "Focus your energy into your eyes. Will as much energy into them as you can, then, once you're ready, open them and maintain the energy."

Weiss opened her mouth for a moment before closing it, electing to shelve whatever misgiving she had for the time being. She closed her eyes, focusing her energy into them as instructed. To her surprise, she could feel something building behind them, a feeling almost akin to a pressure. When she felt that the pressure had reached its peak, she opened her eyes.

An explosion of color. That's what she would have used to describe the world unfolding around her. Trees were vibrant, nearly glowing as the duo passed each one. The rest of the world around them was no different, colors and lights rivaling a rave party. The sky above though, was glowing not blue, but in varying waves of colors, each flowing into the next, a veritable blanket of color straight out of a pack of markers. Weiss could see orange, which shifted into yellow, which then shifted into green, and so on.

She could feel her jaw go slack as she took in her newly colorful surroundings, but she couldn't bring herself to close it, instead favoring staring in awe. A chuckle from Yang was infectious, bringing out a chuckle of her own that quickly turned into a wild, unrestrained laugh that tired her lungs and throat. She couldn't stop though; the world around her was something that looked so different from her own, so much more vibrant, that she couldn't stop the spill of emotions, including the tears that trailed down her cheeks and disappeared behind them.

Her laugh made Yang laugh as well, and for a moment, it was just the two of them, completely in sync and enjoying the views that the divine plane provided.

As quickly as the moment began, it ended. Weiss could feel the energy leaving her, her vision fading as the glowing in her eyes dwindled away. With the loss came a massive headache, nearly instantaneous in its arrival and brutal in its intensity. She gripped her forehead, forcing the sick feeling crawling up from her stomach back down.

Yang slowed her pace, looking back to check on her head priestess. "I'm sorry," she said softly, balancing the container of stew in one hand and brushing her fingers gently over Weiss's forehead with the other. "I should have warned you about the kickback from using a lot of spiritual energy when you're not used to it."

"Kickback?" Weiss all but slurred, feeling her body beginning to go slack as she fought to stay awake.

"Spiritual energy is like a muscle; you can train it to make it stronger and usable for a longer period of time, but if you overdo it, you'll hurt yourself. I didn't expect you to have so much energy and such good control of it, so I forgot to warn you."

Weiss grunted. "'s ok."

Yang shook her head, though she was surprised at the girl's understanding. Perhaps it was the fatigue talking. "It was my mistake, so I'll fix it."

She placed her calloused palm over Weiss's forehead before she began releasing energy into her head priestess.

Weiss could feel the relief almost instantly, a contented sigh escaping her lips, Yang's energy warm and comforting as it made its way through her body. It felt as if she was being revived, like she had just woken up from a wonderful night's sleep, and she could feel her limbs regaining their strength.

It was only a moment later that the flow stopped, the goddess brushing Weiss's bangs back into place. "How do you feel?" she said, concern present in her lilac eyes.

Weiss blinked, stretching her arms a bit before nodding. "Much better, thank you." When Yang opened her mouth, Weiss silenced her with a finger to her lips. "If you're going to apologize again; don't. I got carried away by the moment and you didn't know the extent of my abilities. If anything, it's my fault for not paying attention."

The goddess shook her head. "It's not your fault, Weiss. You couldn't have known about the limits of your spiritual abilities, so you wouldn't have known what you should have been paying attention to."

A small grin made its way across her face. "How about we say we both messed up and call it even then?"

Weiss huffed, but Yang could tell that there was no real irritation behind it. "I suppose that will do."

The dragon's grin grew into a full-on smile. "Great. Now, why don't we hurry home?"

* * *

The sun was nearly below the horizon by the time they returned home. The stew had managed to stay warm through their long trip, though Weiss figured that Yang had something to do with it. She wouldn't be surprised if the dragon goddess had kept it warm with her heat that she tended to radiate.

When they arrived back at the shrine, they settled in for dinner, enjoying the admittedly delicious stew quietly. Ruby's circumstances were nagging at her all through their meal, although she couldn't figure out a way to bring the topic up naturally. After all, she wasn't even entirely sure what she should be asking about in the first place, so she had even less of an idea of how to go about broaching the topic than she would have normally.

Eventually, after the dishes had been cleared and the container for the stew had been properly washed, Weiss decided to simply bite the bullet and go for it; subtlety and decorum be damned.

"Why does Ruby look so young if she's been Blake's head priestess for 40 years?" she blurted, mentally cringing a bit at her own blunt approach.

Yang blinked, seemingly trying to piece together what Weiss had asked. She stared at her head priestess for a moment, her eyes conveying both her confusion and uncertainty to the smaller girl. Then, there was pain –quick as lightning—tearing through her expression and then gone in the next instant.

Weiss nearly believed that she had imagined it, but the look of anguish on Yang's face was near-unforgettable, and far too raw for Weiss to believe that it was anything less than real. Just what had she asked of the goddess?

After a moment, Yang released a shaky breath, looking away as she did so. "You heard about that, huh? I should've known Blake would make me tell you eventually."

"Tell me what?" she asked slowly, seriously debating whether or not she should drop the subject and pretend the whole conversation never happened.

The goddess brought a hand to her stomach, rubbing at a spot above her navel nervously, before hesitantly sliding her gaze to Weiss's. "Eternal Bond _._ That's probably what it'd be called in modern language. It's a special ritual that can be performed to tie the gods and a person of their choosing together for eternity." She paused, her gaze sliding to the floor. "At least if they choose to _stay_ for eternity."

"What?! Stop for a minute," Weiss blurted, raising a hand to halt Yang's speech. There were so many rituals that she wasn't aware of and so many rules and practices that they had yet to discuss, and now they were suddenly talking about a ritual that could make someone _immortal_? This was a conversation that she wasn't sure she was entirely ready for.

 _But if not now, then when?_

She bit her lip. "Go on," she said, sucking in an unsteady breath.

Yang shot her a look that she couldn't quite place; somewhere between sympathy and… _pain_?

"I'll…" she fidgeted with her hands, "I'll start from the beginning."

The dragon goddess shifted until she was sitting in a kneel, her hands tightly clenched in her lap. Weiss decided to mirror the position, the feeling foreign to her as she rested her weight on her ankles. No one in Atlas had ever sat like this, so perhaps it was a lingering habit from Yang's earlier years? Or perhaps it was strictly a position they used in Haven? Regardless, it was irrelevant at the moment.

Yang sucked in a breath of her own, though it came out as something closer to a wheeze. " _Eien no Kizuna_ –the original name—is a ritual performed between a god and their chosen one to bind them together for eternity. The human gains immortality as a result, and can even share some of the god's power, depending on how strong their bond is. In turn, the god no longer has to part with their chosen one once they pass into the afterlife."

"What is a 'chosen one?'" Weiss asked quietly, though she might as well have screamed for how badly Yang jumped.

"It's… A…" She tried again. "A 'chosen one' is a mortal the god loves. It is the mortal –the person—that the god loves _above all others_. Some gods have multiple 'chosen ones,' some have one, and some have none. When they have found their chosen one, they can perform the ritual, but the mortal must be consenting first of all, and secondly, the mortal is the _only_ one who can break the bond."

Weiss nodded. This wasn't _so_ bad. If she was honest, she thought that from the way Yang was acting, it involved a sacrifice of another person or something of the like. "Why can only the human break the bond?"

Yang grimaced. "It provides a safety net for the person so the god can't take away their immortality on a whim."

The goddess shuddered violently, and Weiss could only do the same. How _wrong_ she had been. The ritual was far more serious than she had realized; the implications of taking away immortality were all _too_ clear. "How does immortality work with the bond?" she asked, somewhat afraid of the answer.

"The human will not die, nor will they age, until the bond is broken. However, if the human breaks the bond after their original lifespan passes, they will die nearly instantaneously." The blonde shuddered again, taking a moment to collect herself.

Weiss let her, understanding what Yang had implied, yet left unsaid.

 _If the god broke the bond on a whim after the human's lifespan passed, they would die, unable to stop their unwanted passing._

She felt sick, like a stone had been dropped into her stomach. To think that anyone could be so cruel as to _damn_ their loved one to death in a fit of petty anger was nearly enough for her to retch, but she forced the feeling down with a hand to her mouth and several deep breaths.

From what Weiss could see peering through her bangs, it didn't seem as if Yang looked any less repulsed by the thought, a tight, furious expression marring her features.

"The human can break the bond at any time, however, and most will after a few hundred years. The number of people who stay for thousands of years can likely be counted on one hand, and there are even fewer still who have stayed longer than that. Even now, I can only think of a single chosen one who has stayed for what many humans would consider to be eternity, though I have no guess as to whether they have passed on yet or not."

Weiss swallowed. "What causes a person to wish to break the bond?"

As soon as the question left her mouth, she cursed herself. Yang looked as if Weiss had driven a stake through her heart, clutching at her chest with a grip that drew blood from the exposed skin of her collar.

"I'm sorry! I take it back; you don't have to answer that!" She couldn't regret her words more, and she dearly wished that she had the power to take back her question. How _insensitive_ she had been to ask such a question when Yang had already looked uncomfortable with the conversation!

Yang shook her head, bringing her other hand to mask her face. "No, it… it's fine. Just…" she drew in a breath, "just give me a moment. _Please._ "

And Weiss did, rising from her kneel –her legs quite numb—and stumbling out of the shrine. She staggered over to the _torii,_ putting a hand to the rotten wood and leaning against it.

She had made a colossal blunder; asking about a subject that Yang was clearly uncomfortable with. She dredged up old wounds that she hadn't known about and then had the nerve to keep asking questions. Why hadn't she just dropped the subject?

 _How insensitive can I be?_

She forced herself to calm down then, breathing in for three counts and breathing out for another three counts. She closed her eyes and repeated her actions several times, forcing her emotions to settle. When she was confident that she had calmed down enough, she opened her eyes and put her back to the rotted wood.

The whole idea of eternity had struck her the most from their talk; she could scarcely imagine living for more than 100 years, let alone thousands, yet people pledged to stay with someone for eternity? It seemed ludicrous to her –she who had never loved another. Even with someone to love, she could only imagine how _tiring_ living for such a long time would be.

Wouldn't they tire of seeing history repeat itself? Tire of seeing people fall prey to the same vices and commit the same atrocities over and over again? Wouldn't they tire of their loved one after such a long time? So for someone to promise eternity to another –it seemed almost dishonest to her. Surely the god would know that their chosen one would eventually renege on their promise?

She sank down, pulling her knees to her chest and gazing up at the sky. It was dark now, but the lights from the city provided her with just enough light to make out her surroundings. She rubbed at her eyes, deciding to set the matter aside for at least a few minutes. There would be plenty of time yet to worry about the bond. She leaned her head into her knees and closed her eyes, letting her mind rest.

* * *

" _You can come back now. I'm… ready to answer."_

She didn't know how long she had been nodding off for, but Yang's voice in her head startled her awake. She hurriedly rose before dusting herself off and heading back inside.

She found Yang there, sitting in the same position in the same spot, almost as if she hadn't moved. Weiss could see more marks to her collarbone peeking out from under her _kimono,_ angry and red. She could also see the redness around Yang's eyes.

 _She was crying._

Weiss cursed herself once more, unable to look at what she had caused any longer. She had been insensitive and asked Yang about something that she was clearly struggling with.

"We…" she started, her own voice making her jump, "We don't have to talk about this any further. I don't need to know."

Yang said nothing before she released a breath, shaky. "No, I have to talk about this at some point. Why not now?" She almost laughed, but the sound that came out was humorless, poorly concealing just how sensitive the subject was.

"Really, Yang, we don't have to talk about this now if you don't want to. I can see that this subject is painful for you, and I don't want to bring up a subject that hurts you this much." She looked into the dragon goddess's amethyst orbs, hoping to convey both her sincerity and regret. "I'm sorry for bringing it up in the first place."

Finally, Yang seemed to give her the slightest hint of a smile. It was a relief to see, and Weiss hoped that it meant the goddess understood what it was she was trying to convey without words that would fail to articulate the entirety of her feelings.

"…Thank you, Weiss. I appreciate it, but this is something I would have had to talk about eventually. It's a little earlier than I planned, but things hardly ever go as planned anyway. So… I think now is the time."

She fidgeted a bit, clenching and unclenching her hands in her lap. "It's just that… for me, everything that I'm about to tell you is still fresh for me, like it happened yesterday. When I was in slumber, I couldn't perceive how much time was passing, so it feels like I went into slumber one minute and was awakened by you the next. So with that in mind, please be patient with me as I tell you my story."

Weiss nodded, kneeling across from Yang. "Of course. Please take your time, and if you change your mind at some point, we can stop at any moment."

"Thank you. I will keep that in mind," Yang said, another tentative smile stretching her lips just a bit. Just as quickly as it appeared though, it disappeared as she began her story.

"You asked… about what would cause a person to break their… their bond. There are various," she searched for the right word, " _reasons_ why they would, and all of them are personal, but the most common is that eternity is a _long_ time. It's far longer than many think, and mortals just aren't made to live that long. Emotions wear on them, love fades, the world changes too much for their liking –you name it and it becomes something that slowly eats at them."

She took a breath then, looking up to the ceiling. "It's hardly their fault for being unable to maintain the bond, and we are aware of their human limits when we form a bond, aware that they will one day leave and that all we have done is extend our time with them for just a little bit longer. Yet… we still choose to bond, because we are inevitably drawn to mortals and their affairs."

The dragon goddess looked to Weiss then. "You have a freedom that we do not, a unique light that burns in each of you, urging you to live your life the way you choose to. I am unable to truly be free, as the need for faith will always chain me to my goddess status. I can't even pass on into the afterlife; I'll simply disappear when my faith has run dry and there is nothing left."

She paused, getting a bit choked up before rubbing at her eyes with her oversized sleeves and continuing. "I had only three head priestesses before you… and I loved the last one. She made eternity exciting, teaching me something new about humans and their ways every day, and each smile she graced me with made me feel like I wasn't so different –like I would live a fulfilling life, growing old and eventually passing on with her at my side."

Yang broke down then, and Weiss did her best to comfort the wounded heart of the dragon goddess, embracing her like Yang had done for her in the past. Weiss Schnee was by no means a comforting presence to most, but she felt like her arms cradling the goddess's head to her shoulder made the sobs racking Yang's body lessen just a bit.

It took several minutes, but eventually Yang had calmed down enough that the tears stopped, though her voice was still raw from the cries that tore at her throat. "I haven't told you this yet, but the reason I lost my faith –the reason I went into slumber—was because I was… _attacked_ by another god."

Weiss couldn't stop the gasp that escaped her, horrified that another divine being would attack the kind goddess. The Yang that she knew –a warm, comforting presence who wished for Weiss's happiness despite her own troubles—couldn't have done anything to warrant an attack as far as she was concerned.

Unable to come up with anything worthwhile to say, Weiss simply pulled Yang closer to her, running gentle fingers through her hair. Something akin to a sigh fanned out against her collarbone, and she swore she could feel Yang's skin warm just a bit. Perhaps her clumsy attempts to comfort were working?

"The bull god, known as _Adam Taurus,_ plotted to take over _Tenbasho._ Being the hothead I was, I tried to stop him on my own, but I didn't realize that he had brought an army. While I fought off the advancing army, he took advantage of the distraction and stabbed me, instantly putting me into slumber."

Yang pulled back then, slowly pulling apart her _kimono_ until it revealed a scar just above her navel. "This is all that is left of him and his deeds. He was banished down to _Shinokuni_ –the purgatory of Takusan—and is damned there for eternity. Still, it didn't change the fact that I had been forced into slumber by being "killed," and so I stayed in _Tenbasho,_ slumbering."

She fixed her robes, laying a hand above the place where her scar rested as she finished. "Many people abandoned their faith in me when I didn't return after several years, yet my head priestess remained, sure that I would come back from the battle."

Yang's voice cracked then, and she swiped at each tear that came. "She waited for hundreds of years, hoping for my return, but when all the other followers had disappeared and I had still yet to return after so long, she finally lost hope. She broke the bond after so long, waiting and hoping, and I could _feel_ it in my slumber. The _second_ she broke the bond, I could _feel_ the string connecting us go slack as she passed on, and I couldn't do _anything. I could only sleep as she passed on."_

A sob wracked the goddess's throat as she screamed her frustrations, rising and stomping back and forth through the room, and Weiss could only watch as the dragon goddess relived the painful memories.

"I can't even blame her for breaking the bond," she said then, her anger suddenly shifting to a hollowness. "Her goddess disappears for hundreds of years, and even though she can feel that I was still alive, she had no idea why I wasn't coming back."

"She probably died thinking that I had abandoned her for someone else."

Weiss felt her heart shatter; the resignation, the self-loathing, the heartbreak that coated Yang's words came to a climax all at once. She couldn't even properly say farewell to the girl she loved. She couldn't stop herself from embracing Yang once again, holding the shaking goddess to her, murmuring reassurances to her.

Yang let herself cry this time, sobbing loudly into Weiss's chest, gripping at the fabric of the girl's robes like a lifeline. "I talked with Blake before we went to visit her, and I had to hear about all of this from _her,"_ she cried, her tears and snot making it difficult for Weiss to tell exactly what she was saying. "I spoke with her one day when you were at school and asked her to keep everything a secret. It took everything I had to pretend like everything was normal, like I wasn't being torn apart by guilt and self-hatred. If only I had been stronger! If only I hadn't charged in to stop him alone! All these regrets piled until I could feel myself cracking under the weight of it all."

She took a few moments to let herself breathe, her tears still staining Weiss's robes. "I don't blame you for any of this. How could you have known? So don't blame yourself for my tears."

She squeezed Weiss tightly. "It might take a while, but I will be alright again. All I ask is that you give me time. _Please,_ don't give up on me, Weiss."

The head priestess shook her head furiously, pulling Yang just a little bit closer to her. "If you promise to never give up on me, I will do the same for you. We both have a lot of problems to deal with and a long road ahead of us, but together, I know we will be able to make it through."

Weiss could feel Yang's watery smile against her collar, and something about the hope behind it brought tears to her own icy eyes.

"It's a promise."

* * *

When Weiss climbed into her sleeping bag that night, safely tucked in with Yang's draconic form wrapped around her, she felt that there was something the goddess truly deserved to hear.

"Yang?"

The dragon's eyes slowly opened. "What is it?"

"When you wrap around me like this, I feel safe and warm, like everything bad in the world can't reach me. I just wanted to say 'thank you' for that."

The goddess's draconic lips pulled into something of a smile, though it could just as easily have been a grimace if Weiss hadn't had context.

"…Thank you, Weiss."

The two settled in for sleep, welcoming its embrace as they prepared for the challenges ahead. By no means was everything resolved this evening, but it was a huge step forward for the two of them and their relationship.

"Goodnight."

* * *

 **This chapter was probably one of the most difficult ones I've ever written. There was a lot emotion and a lot of pain that I wanted to convey, and I was stuck for quite a while on how to portray everything without being overbearing. I hope y'all will let me know what you think! I hope this was worth the wait! Until next time~!**

 **Notes:**

 ** _Eien no Kizuna_ (永遠の絆): Also known as "Eternal Bond" refers to the practice of a god sharing their immortality (and in rare cases powers) with a person or persons of their choosing, known as "chosen one(s)." The parties must both be consenting and a ritual is performed to seal the bond. The mortal(s) involved are the only one(s) who can break the bond, which acts as a safety net. The mortal will die immediately after breaking the bond if they exceeded their expected lifespan. If it is broken within their normal lifespan, they will continue to live out the rest of their life until their original death date. The ritual is only performed when a god and their chosen person(s) have deep trust and affection towards each other, and thus is fairly uncommon in comparison to the sheer amount of deities in existence. A god and their chosen one(s) can sense each other's presence as long as the bond remains active, and in cases of an extremely close bond, can inform the other of their partner(s)'s condition.**


	6. Making Progress

**Hello, hello. I didn't realize how long it had been since this last updated, so I wanted to get this out. I promise the next update will be quicker. Enjoy!**

* * *

Weiss awoke quietly, blinking into consciousness and smiling softly at the warm feeling of Yang's draconic form wrapped around her. She sat up and rested a gentle hand on the lightly-snoring goddess's snout, stroking the smooth scales. Their feel was pleasant to the touch, and they shined so brightly that Weiss firmly believed that they could be mistaken for true gold when they shimmered under the light of the sun.

Yang stirred at the touch, a hum thrumming through her entire form. Amethyst eyes met ice-blue and draconic lips curled back to reveal sharp teeth; Yang's version of a smile when she was in her true form.

"Good morning, Yang. How did you sleep?" Weiss whispered, her fingers trailing along the goddess's snout.

Yang nuzzled into the touch, pushing her head into Weiss's hand. "Surprisingly well, thanks. How about you? It couldn't have been easy to listen to all that." She looked down for a moment, eyes trained on the floor before she felt the delicate fingers slide underneath her jaw, gently but insistently encouraging her to meet her head priestess's eyes.

"You don't need to feel guilty, Yang. I'm happy that you were able to honestly share both your feelings and your past with me. It couldn't have been easy to confide all that in me, but we promised that we would help each other, right?" At Yang's nod she smiled. "I fully intend to keep my word."

Yang's form shifted then, shrinking into her human visage that kneeled before her priestess, tears welling at the corners of her eyes. Weiss's hands slid to her cheeks, and she leaned into the warmth. Her eyes drifted shut, and as tear trails painted across her skin, soft thumbs wiped them away, soothing just a bit of the potent ache that still held a vice grip on her heart.

Weiss leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to Yang's forehead. "We will get through this together."

 _Together._

* * *

After a simple breakfast bought from the nearby convenience store, Weiss donned her priestess garb, receiving Yang's assistance in tying back the large sleeves; though they were considered "traditional," they were seriously lacking in any sort of functionality.

She tightened her ponytail and turned to Yang, a fire burning in her eyes. "Since it's Saturday, we have all day to clean. If I'm going to do my job, I'm going to do it properly, and cleaning this place up is a part of that. Once it's presentable, it'll be a lot easier to gather faith."

The goddess smiled, eyes crinkling at the edges. It was nice to see this level of enthusiasm from Weiss; she'd been so reluctant before, but now she was putting her heart into, and it warmed Yang's own in turn. "Right! What do you want me to do?"

Weiss pointed to the roofs of the main structure and the smaller structure that likely held cleansing water at one point where many of the shingles were missing. "Can you patch up the roofs? Do we need to go to the hardware store?"

Yang shook her head, shifting into her draconic form. "I think I stored some in the donation box for a moment like this. Let me check." She swam over to the box, lifting the slotted lid and peering inside briefly before her eyes lit up. Out of the storage space(?) she pulled out a large tray of roof shingles, along with the tools necessary to fix them in place. "Got them," she said triumphantly.

"That's pretty convenient," Weiss mused, an eyebrow raised at the sheer number of shingles being lifted out of the tiny box.

"Yeah, it's pretty nice. As soon as I established it, I started putting anything we got in excess in there to save for later," Yang said, setting down the tray and replacing the slotted lid.

"You never told me how it works."

"Ah, it basically connects to my home in _Tenbasho._ It's like a portal to the divine plane," she said, sorting through the shingles to check for damage.

"But what about my school uniform? You mentioned it was a bit different," Weiss mused with a tap of her finger to her chin.

Yang hummed, glancing to the sky for a moment. "I use my abilities as a goddess to create them, and I connect to _Tenbasho_ in order to channel my power. Once I've made what I need, I pull it out of the divine plane and it's done."

"Interesting," Weiss said, a hesitant acceptance in her tone. The whole concept of Yang's abilities was still abstract to her, but for now it was enough to have basic knowledge of whatever tricks the goddess deigned to pull out of her hat.

They set to work then; Yang using her flight ability to easily maneuver to the holes throughout the roofs, and Weiss making her way across the grounds, pulling out weeds wedged in between the stones and raking the fallen leaves that covered the entire expanse of the shrine.

It was simple work, but the results would be an important step in the direction of regaining Yang's former prestige. Thus, they took it seriously, scouring every nook and cranny to find a broken tile hidden from sight, or to find a weed that had just begun to sprout. Of course, they enjoyed some lighthearted banter, talking about whatever popped into their heads while they worked away.

"So, Weiss. I've been curious about something," Yang said, her gaze trained on her work.

"What is it?"

"You know how companies advertise to make themselves known?"

"Yes?"

"And you know how they often make websites so people can find out more about them and the products they sell?"

Weiss paused in her work, squinting at the goddess who had yet to look up. "…Yes…"

"I was thinking…" Yang said, trailing off briefly, "What if we made a website for the shrine? You think that would help get people to come visit?" She finally glanced up to see Weiss scowling at her, though it was layered in skepticism and confusion rather than anger.

"That sounds… _wrong_ for some reason."

Yang tilted her head, genuinely confused. "What's wrong about it? I think it would help us to gain faith, don't you?"

"It feels…" she gestured vaguely, "sacrilegious somehow. It feels like it doesn't fit with how ancient all of this is, like putting a car in medieval Europe or something like that."

Yang hummed, tapping a claw to her chin. "Well, why don't we ask Blake and Ruby if they have a website? If they have one, we can make one too! Sound fair?"

Weiss's brow smoothed a bit, but the corners of her mouth were still slightly downturned. "I suppose." She retracted in on herself. "Will we have to make another trip through the divine plane?"

"Nope! Just wait a second!" Yang's lips curled back, a mischievous grin on her draconic features.

She swam to the donation box, pulled off the lid, and stuck her head inside, completely missing the look of confusion that morphed into alarm Weiss shot her way.

* * *

Blake had been lounging in her feline form on the steps of the shrine; it was a slow day so there was no real need for her to find a different spot to nap. The sun was perfectly warm here, and she had a good view of Ruby attending to the grounds, so it was the best spot. Truly, nothing could disturb this perfection.

"Hey, Blake!"

She nearly jumped out of her skin.

The donation box lid flew off as Yang popped her head out, grinning all the while.

"Damn it, Yang! Don't scare me like that," Blake growled, smoothing her bristled fur back down. _Stupid lizard._

"Sorry about that, Blakey!" She didn't look the least bit sorry. "I have a question for ya!"

The cat goddess sighed, glaring at her friend. "What is it?"

"Do you have a website for this shrine?"

She blinked. "A website?"

Yang nodded. "Yeah! A website with info on the shrine and stuff! You got one?"

"We do," Blake said slowly. "Ruby made it since she's good with technology."

"Cool! That's all I needed! See ya!" And with that, Yang disappeared back into the donation box.

Blake stared at the box, trying to comprehend her friend's sudden visit and departure. She gave up quickly, and settled for a sigh and returning to her nap. Whatever that foolish lizard was up to was none of her business.

* * *

Yang retracted her head from the box to find Weiss staring at her wide-eyed. "What?"

"What do you mean, 'what'?! You just stuck your head in the box with no explanation! What did you do?!" Weiss shouted.

"I went to Blake's shrine through the connection between our donation boxes," Yang said, placing a claw on Weiss's shoulder. "We're buddies so we connected our places in the divine plane to make it easier to see each other. But, it's kinda cramped so I don't use it much."

Weiss seemed mollified at that, and let her anger go with a breath. "And? What did they say?"

"They have one, so that means we can have one," Yang cheered.

"We'll have to ask Ruby for help." Yang opened her mouth, but Weiss stopped her with a finger to the goddess's muzzle. "But that will have to wait until after we get this place looking presentable. So, let's get back to work for a bit longer and then we can have lunch. Alright?"

"Alright~!"

* * *

It was about an hour later that the two stopped to head to a local ramen restaurant Pyrrha had mentioned during one of her many tours. Yang had insisted upon coming along, taking on her human guise. The only issue was the stares she received, though Weiss supposed that being an attractive woman in traditional clothing was simply going to garner that attention as a matter of course.

The shop was small, little more than a hole-in-the-wall type of place, but the restaurant name –written in big, flowing letters—exuded both pride and character. Pyrrha had said it was one of the best kept secrets in Haven.

The shop wasn't busy, with only a few other people inside, but it was past the typical time for lunch, so that much was to be expected. They sat down at a table in the corner that ran parallel to the window, giving them a nice view of the walking traffic just outside.

Yang ordered an extra-large bowl of ramen, while Weiss settled for a smaller one. She began to eat quietly, only to be startled by loud, rapid slurping coming from Yang's bowl.

"What on Remnant are you doing?" Weiss hissed, trying to not attract the attention of the other patrons with her anger.

Yang stopped, a noodle dangling halfway out her mouth. "Um… eating? What else?"

"You're being obnoxious! Can't you eat more quietly? It's rude to be so noisy!"

Yang slurped the errant noodle down with a laugh. "Maybe in Atlas, yeah. But here? Different story; it's considered _polite_ to slurp your noodles. Means you like the food," she said, audibly gulping down some of the broth to make a point.

"Really?" Weiss said, an eyebrow raised in suspicion, yet there was distinctly less heat to her expression.

"Take a listen," Yang said, resuming her eating.

Weiss glanced around the tiny restaurant

Sure enough, there was loud slurping and gulping emanating from the other patrons' seats, satisfied hums released after finishing. There were shouts from the chefs, greeting each patron when they arrived, and thanking them for coming when they left. It was _loud,_ and yet it wasn't grating on the ears. There was a certain feeling of satisfaction and joy permeating the air.

Weiss turned back to Yang, who had downed about half the bowl. "I guess you're right. I never knew," she said, her gaze dropping to her lap.

"Hey," Yang said softly, "there's no reason to be embarrassed or ashamed. You said it yourself; you didn't know. But now you do, so you can enjoy your ramen to the fullest right along with me!"

Weiss lifted her head to see Yang smiling brightly at her. "You're right. I guess I've still got a lot to learn about many things, don't I?"

"Yep! And you can ask me anything, so don't hesitate if there's something you don't know. I've lived a long time, so I might as well put all that knowledge to good use," Yang returned with a grin.

She gestured to Weiss's bowl with her free hand. "Now eat up! Your noodles were already pretty soft, so if you let 'em sit too much longer they'll turn to mush."

Weiss plucked some noodles from her bowl, and hesitated. Even though Yang had given her the ok to eat loudly, it was hard to ignore her Atlesian manners. Though as quick as her hesitation came, it was dashed when Yang slurped a heap of noodles particularly loudly, as if to encourage Weiss.

That gave her the push she needed; Weiss took the noodles into her mouth and slurped, taking in the delicious taste of the broth that had been absorbed into the dough. She took another portion, and then another, and another, until she was downing her food just shy of Yang's competitive pace.

The goddess smiled as she picked up her bowl and drained the last of the liquid. As out of her element Weiss may be, she took to things quickly, and Yang was happy to see her begin to adjust to her new life, even in small steps.

After finishing, they would return to the shrine with full bellies, ready to resume their work.

It would make for a productive Saturday.

* * *

 **Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san kind of inspired that last scene, but more than that, I wanted to show a cultural contrast and the fact that there is still much that Weiss doesn't know about where she is now. In general, Weiss is meant to represent a typical mindset when it comes to foreign customs; that there is one set of rules for everything, and anything else is simple strange or uncivilized, though she doesn't turn her nose up once she realizes it isn't just a case of bad table manners. She's better than a lot of people in that regard. She has a "when in Rome" moment, but of course the issue will come up again. For the record, what Yang said is true for when dining on ramen in Japan. Until next time~!**


End file.
